Richmond Fog Disrupts Travel and Appointments
Patchy dense fog in the Richmond area is causing transportation disruptions, with milder temperatures expected later in the week. Such weather conditions can create barriers to accessing healthcare for patients who rely on public transportation. A warmup is forecast for later on Tuesday.
- Lack of reliable transportation is a significant barrier to care, with one study finding that nearly 74% of Black women surveyed identified transportation issues as the primary reason for late, missed, or rescheduled prenatal appointments. Such barriers are linked to adverse outcomes, including higher rates of preterm birth. - In Virginia, Medicaid's Cardinal Care program provides non-emergency medical transportation for pregnant and postpartum members to attend doctor appointments and other covered services. This service is managed by a contractor, Modivcare, and is available when a member has no other way to get to their appointment. - Telehealth is increasingly used to overcome geographical and transportation barriers in maternal care, offering remote consultations, monitoring for high-risk pregnancies, and postpartum support. The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists has endorsed the use of telehealth across the perinatal continuum. - Digital health platforms are emerging to further mitigate access-to-care issues by connecting expectant mothers with resources, providing personalized health information via chatbots, and enabling remote data collection through wearable devices. - For midwives, telehealth offers a way to conduct virtual prenatal check-ins, provide lactation support, and manage postpartum follow-ups, increasing convenience and access for patients. This has led to the growth of remote and virtual midwifery positions. - Studies show that transportation barriers disproportionately impact minority communities; one analysis found Black individuals were more than twice as likely to cancel or delay prenatal appointments due to unreliable transportation. - The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) has a primary goal of expanding the midwifery workforce to increase consumer access to care, which can help mitigate issues like transportation barriers by bringing more providers into underserved communities.
