May 6, 2026
Article: Closing the Access Gap: 6 Strategies to Redraw the Patient Care Map
For rural healthcare organizations, access has become the central organizing principle behind nearly every strategic decision.
This new operational reality is being shaped by a convergence of pressures. Workforce shortages, rapidly declining independent physician practices, geographic dispersion and aging populations have pushed traditional care models to their limits, widening gaps in access to routine and preventive services. A November 2025 Commonwealth Fund report highlights the consequences: nearly 40% of adults living in rural areas have sought care in emergency departments for conditions that likely could have been treated in primary care settings.
But the challenge, as athenahealth’s research and policy work make clear, runs deeper than geography alone. “I think access is much more nuanced,” Joe Ganley, vice president of government and regulatory affairs at athenahealth, said. “It’s great if I have a doctor’s office in my town. It’s not great if I can’t get an appointment for nine months because they’re totally booked, or I can’t afford it.”
In response, rural leaders are redesigning not just where but how care is delivered – through virtual-first workflows, expanded ambulatory and community-based care sites, stronger data-sharing and new partnerships that ease patients’ access to services while extending scarce clinical capacity.
This article, the first in a four-part series, “Rural healthcare excellence in 2026: 26 lessons in making less do more,” highlights six ways rural providers are expanding access through pragmatic innovation and what it signals for the future of care delivery.
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