Trends in Travel Time to Obtain Surgical Care for Rural Patients

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2830214 Rural Patients Face Growing Travel Times for Surgery Rural Americans are traveling farther than ever for surgical care, an AHRQ-funded study in JAMA found. Using Medicare data from over 12 million admissions between 2010 and 2020, researchers examined trends in travel time for 16 common surgical procedures. The percentage of rural patients traveling more than 60 minutes rose from 37 to 44 percent over that decade. Median travel times also increased from 43 to 48 minutes for low-risk procedures and from 64 to 69 minutes for high-risk ones. In contrast, nonrural patients saw much smaller increases. The greatest growth in travel burden was seen in lower risk surgeries, while some high-risk procedures remained stable. The findings highlight a widening access gap for rural patients, likely driven by hospital closures, provider shortages, and care centralization. The trend underscores a growing need for policy and infrastructure solutions.