Expect Delays: Poor Connections Between Rural and Urban Health Systems Challenge Multidisciplinary Care for Rural Americans With Diabetic Foot Ulcers

Over 30 million people in the United States have diabetes, and up to 25% of them will develop a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). Specific to DFUs, rural patients face 50% higher odds of major (above-ankle) amputation and 40% higher odds of death compared to their urban counterparts. A group of authors including HIP Investigators, Dr. Meghan Brennan and Dr. Christie Bartels sought to understand what health system factors contribute to the rural disparity in diabetic foot ulcer outcomes.

The authors concluded that future interventions focusing on mitigating the poor connections across rural and urban healthcare systems could reduce the rural disparity in major amputations.