A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize and conduct a public workshop to explore opportunities to improve diagnosis in rural areas in the United States. Workshop participants will consider the current landscape and explore opportunities for addressing diagnostic challenges to mitigate health disparities for rural populations.
The workshop will feature invited presentations and discussions exploring strategies within rural areas such as:

• Delivery of patient-centered care that considers the diverse and complex factors contributing to health disparities, incorporation of shared decision making in the diagnostic process, and ways to improve timely communication of diagnosis;
• Strategies to reduce access barriers for rural populations, including availability of primary care and specialized services (such as maternal care, mental health, pediatric care, and chronic disease management); ways to address distance barriers; and ways to leverage community-centered approaches;
• The role of technologies and diagnostic innovations in improving diagnosis, including artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, digital health, telehealth, mobile units, remote diagnostics, and other mechanisms to routinely collect high-quality data and communicate patient information to clinicians in real time;
• Professional education and development to reduce diagnostic delays, specialized training for rural needs, utilization of digital health technologies, and ways to improve communication and interprofessional collaboration; and
• Strategies for enhancing diagnostic excellence in rural areas that can be adapted to other underserved areas.

In accordance with institutional guidelines, a designated rapporteur will prepare a proceedings-in brief of the workshop based on the presentations and discussions during the workshop. The proceedings-in brief will be subject to the National Academies review procedures prior to release.