PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Access to health care is causing problems for many older Pennsylvania residents, especially those in rural areas.
A new study by AARP Pennsylvania and Drexel University outlined just how difficult the past year has been for Pennsylvania seniors.
Pharmacies can be found on just about every corner in this area, but that's not the case everywhere in the commonwealth, according to Angela Foreshaw-Rouse, manager of state operations and community outreach at AARP Pennsylvania.
"We found that throughout Pennsylvania's 67 counties, each county has at least one area that's a pharmacy desert," said Foreshaw-Rouse. "By that we mean, pharmacy desert is those with few to no access to pharmacies available within a certain mile radius."
Access to technology is also a big problem for many seniors, especially as telemedicine has become common for medical visits.
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"The pandemic is really intensifying the importance of Internet access throughout the state," she said, "whether you have high speed connectivity, whether you lack technology by way of a smartphone, or whether you lack digital literacy to be connected.
The study also found that cost was a key reason some haven't been to the doctor in the past 12 months.