RAMifications for Healthcare: Remote Area Medical and Healthcare Access in Rural Virginia

Abstract

Remote Area Medical, a healthcare nonprofit based in Rockford, Tennessee, attempts to shore up health disparities experienced by rural Americans, "prevent[ing] pain and alleviat[ing] suffering by providing free, quality healthcare to those in need." This they accomplish through a care model of pop-up clinics. Distinct from permanent hospitals or brick-and-mortar clinics, pop-up clinics like RAM's usually only remain in a community for a weekend and are designed to process a high volume of patients, often serving 1,000+ individuals over the space of three days. . . . This research will investigate patient autonomy as an extension of patient dependence on RAM services. To that end, the first component of the research methodology will seek to understand whether RAM patients consider RAM services as a supplemental or replacement healthcare measure compared to more traditional forms of healthcare. Data to reach these conclusions will come from patient registration archives -- these contain information about patient health, demographics and healthcare histories -- from Virginia RAM clinics conducted over the last 15 years. This is followed up with a focus on underlying patient attitudes that form the foundation of those observations, furnished by in-person, in-depth interviews. These extend the investigation of dependency to one of patient agency and autonomy. Do RAM patients think of RAM as a replacement healthcare service in itself? If so, what consequences does that have for the kind of care they expect to receive? What obligations does RAM have to such a population? Do patients depend on RAM from a financial standpoint, or is hypothetical dependence on RAM services the product of intersectional needs related to healthcare? These are just some of the questions that this research will identify and address. [From Introduction]