AI is having a transformative impact on healthcare. The innovation AI has brought to diagnostics and advanced therapeutics cannot be understated. Another area that bears mentioning is the many ways that AI could improve access to quality healthcare, particularly in rural and underserved communities; however, many challenges remain.
Certainly, AI holds immense potential to bridge rural healthcare gaps via telehealth, faster diagnostics, and better resource management, tackling shortages and isolation. Nevertheless, significant hurdles remain, including poor broadband, low digital literacy, data privacy concerns, biased algorithms, and the high cost of implementation, demanding careful, inclusive strategies to avoid worsening disparities.
On a recent episode of The Big Unlock podcast Lisa Hunter, Senior Director of Federal Policy and Advocacy at United States of Care, sat down with host Ritu M. Uberoy, Managing Partner at BigRio and Damo to share her insights on how her organization, and the federal government is addressing these issues.
For Underserved Communities it’s a Matter of Trust
Lisa noted that patients, particularly in rural areas are very used to “hands on” interaction with healthcare providers — when they can get to see one! Therefore, they are more comfortable with AI in back-office and diagnostic use cases compared to roles that feel like they are “replacing” clinicians.
As she told Ritu, “Our organization is really looking at improving the healthcare system and transforming it so that at the end of the day it works for everyday people in the United States.”
She went on to stress the need for rigorous listening, research, and language that resonates with people, so that the “patient’s voice” remains a big part of any program to bring healthcare AI into underserved communities.
“We’re following AI as sort of an issue from the patient and the everyday person’s perspective, and I think one of the things that’s occurred to us in the advocacy community is that the voice of patients and the voice of people is somewhat missing from the table right now.”
She went on to explain that when it comes to AI, her organization’s focus is not so much on technological innovation, but more on advocating for the patient in overcoming those trust issues, particularly in rural and underserved communities.
AI and Rural Health Transformation
Health inequities have long been a problem in America. Lisa discussed how the federal government’s Rural Health Transformation Program, introduced in July, 2025 is trying to change that.
“The Rural Health Transformation Fund is something that I think many people are looking at as a real opportunity for doing something big to really bring solutions to the rural health infrastructure and make improvements so that rural health across the America can certainly live out its potential to address the needs of rural America.”
She went on to explain that the program represents a “real opportunity to inject new life in rural America when it comes to healthcare.” Continuing that the initiative is huge investment – $50 billion over the span of five years – and a good portion of that budget is allocated for infrastructure and AI.
Bridging the AI Trust Gap
Despite the investment and support of the current administration for rural health transformation, Lisa still sees bridging the trust gap as the greatest challenge rural communities face in leveraging the benefits AI can bring. She told Ritu that when it comes to AI, her organization’s research has found patients in rural communities are comfortable with back-office areas, or diagnostics, but have a fear of it replacing doctors.
“Our initial research found that the closer that you get to introducing AI into situations where it seems it may be subverting or supplanting the actual physician in the room, that is when people [in these communities] become very uncomfortable.”
When asked by Ritu “what is the best way to address that gap?” Lisa said that she thinks it is going to require a lot more research. Stating that the goal is to look at specific positive use cases, ones that not only demonstrate the technological advances that AI brings to healthcare, but the cases that successfully integrate AI on behalf of patients, consumers and people.