RURAL HEALTH
Better medication adherence.
Better rural health outcomes.
More than 46 million Americans live in rural communities, where rates of hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, respiratory illness, suicide, and drug overdose deaths are disproportionately high. By helping rural residents take their medications as prescribed, our customers see adherence rates rise to 80-90%.
How Scene makes a difference for rural communities
Extending access
Care that reaches every corner
• 10+ years in rural areas ranging from Uganda to Mississippi
• Top rural health burdens (diabetes, hypertension, asthma, + more)
• User-friendly mobile app with convenient async video
Improving outcomes
1 program: Many interventions
• Medication review, video DOT, education
• Human connection averaging 166 touchpoints per individual
• Clinically validated in 30+ trials and studies across conditions
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Turnkey solution
The right team + technology
• End-to-end solution takes care of all operational details
• Pharmacists + nurses trained in medication adherence support
• Extends provider capacity + reduces burnout
How Scene makes a difference for rural communities
Transforming Rural Healthcare through Medication Adherence Support
A Guide to Making the Case for Breakthrough Outcomes
Rural healthcare leaders face mounting challenges, ranging from healthcare deserts to transportation barriers. This guide explores how medication adherence support can improve outcomes, reduce costs, and help address the burdens rural communities face most. Learn why the Scene Health approach works for rural areas and what to consider when building your business case.
Ana
Reduction in A1c from 12 to 7
Angelica
Reduced asthma exacerbations for her teens
Ernest
Accountability to hit his health goals
Making real impact
Aligned to the rural health transformation (RHT) program
Make rural America healthy
Scene partners with 750+ health departments to expand patient access and streamline care. Through video check-ins and scalable engagement, patients gain a reliable connection to healthcare, enabling early intervention and preventive action. Clinically validated in 20+ peer-reviewed studies, Scene has proven to improve outcomes and reduce costs across chronic and infectious diseases like substance use disorder, asthma, and diabetes.
Sustainable access
Scene’s video DOT platform connects patients to care asynchronously and requires only a basic smartphone or tablet. If a patient does not have connectivity, videos and other patient data can be securely stored within the Scene app and transmitted once connectivity is established.
Workforce development
Scene strengthens the rural healthcare workforce by extending provider capacity, reducing burnout, and building skills in technology-driven patient engagement. This helps make rural practice more sustainable and attractive for existing providers and to-be-recruited healthcare workers.
Innovative care
Scene’s CDC-endorsed vDOT model improves outcomes, strengthens care coordination, and delivers flexible, patient-centered engagement. By combining daily human touchpoints with digital tools, Scene helps providers extend care beyond the clinic, reduce barriers, and build sustainable coordinated care models in rural communities.
Tech innovation
Scene Health is a digital health company recognized by CB Insights, Fast Company, and the National TB Controllers Association (NTCA) for its innovative healthcare solution. Scene brings secure, efficient, and patient-centered digital innovation to rural healthcare. Our CDC-endorsed, clinically validated model bridges the gap between patients and providers with patient-centric technology that protects data, strengthens care, and improves outcomes.
Making real impact
Sustainable Access
Aligned to the remote health transformation program
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Strengthening Rural Health
Scene partners with 750+ health departments nationwide to expand access and improve outcomes in rural communities. Daily virtual touchpoints connect patients and providers, enabling early intervention and preventive care. Clinically validated across multiple diseases, Scene improves health and reduces costs.
Sustainable Access
Scene’s video DOT platform connects patients asynchronously using only a smartphone or tablet. When connectivity is limited, data is securely stored and sent once online, ensuring consistent access to care in even the most remote areas.
Workforce Development
Scene extends provider capacity and reduces burnout by supporting technology-driven patient engagement. This strengthens the rural healthcare workforce and makes rural practice more sustainable and appealing for current and future providers.
Innovative Care
Scene’s CDC-endorsed, clinically proven vDOT model combines daily human touchpoints with digital tools to improve outcomes and coordination. Recognized by CB Insights and Fast Company, Scene brings secure, scalable innovation to rural healthcare.
Get real-time adherence data
With our program, sponsors, CROs, and clinical trial sites can evaluate adherence (compliance) rates earlier, in real-time, and more accurately to increase successful, cost-efficient clinical trials.
Directly observe 100% of doses
We directly observe 100% of submitted doses using asynchronous video technology — allowing for more accurate efficacy estimates and improved patient support.
Improve patient retention
Our patient-friendly technology and service increase patient understanding of the dosing protocol, keep patients engaged, and reduce barriers to trial participation.
Efficiency and reduce site burden
Scene offers white-glove support to ensure smooth execution and high-quality data while speeding up trial completion. Our flexible approach accommodates various study protocols and administration methods—whether orals, inhalers, topicals, or injections. Scene delivers reliable, on-time, and cost-effective trial completion without adding an unnecessary burden on the sites.
Secure up to 100% adherence rates2
Medication adherence with our video Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) program is comparable to that of in-person DOT and provides a higher percentage of administered treatment doses.
Save $1,400 per patient3
We help public health departments achieve significant time and cost savings compared with in-person DOT treatments due to reduced employee hours and driving costs.
Expand capacity
Our platform extends limited resources by removing in-person dosing requirements and offering multiple modalities for DOT (asynchronous, livestream & in-person appointments). We also provide Video Review as a Service to further maximize available resources.
Make meaningful, remote care easy
Our flexible, convenient, and easy-to-use app is available in 20+ languages and was built to support low-resource settings.
Reduce readmissions and ED visits
Better coordination and communication tools support patients and encourage adherence at each step, reducing rates of hospital readmission and ED visits.
Improve adherence and administration technique
When patients take their medications properly and improve true medication adherence, they improve health outcomes like A1c values and blood pressure control fast.
Strengthen patient engagement
Our high-touch program allows our care team to connect with patients every day to ensure that no medication adherence issues fall through the cracks.
Gather SDOH data
We successfully identify and help patients overcome root causes of nonadherence with extensive support for issues related to Social Determinants of Health.
Strengthening rural health
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Scene partners with 750+ health departments nationwide to expand access and improve outcomes in rural communities. Daily virtual touchpoints connect patients and providers, enabling early intervention and preventive care. Clinically validated across multiple diseases, Scene improves health and reduces costs.
Sustainable access
.png)
Scene’s video DOT platform connects patients asynchronously using only a smartphone or tablet. When connectivity is limited, data is securely stored and sent once online—ensuring consistent access to care in even the most remote areas.
Workforce development
.png)
Scene extends provider capacity and reduces burnout by supporting technology-driven patient engagement. This strengthens the rural healthcare workforce and makes rural practice more sustainable and appealing for current and future providers.
Innovative care
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Scene’s CDC-endorsed, clinically proven vDOT model combines daily human touchpoints with digital tools to improve outcomes and coordination. Recognized by CB Insights and Fast Company, Scene brings secure, scalable innovation to rural healthcare.
25+ Peer-reviewed Publications
We offer one of the most comprehensive collections of peer-reviewed research in the field of medication adherence. With over 25 publications, our studies demonstrate how our approach to MedEngagement boosts true medication adherence, the fastest way to improve health.
Our 700+ customers spanning health plans, public health, life sciences, and more are transforming disease management.
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“Scene’s a comprehensive solution that’s helping us drive improvements in outcomes.”
Director of Quality, Medicaid MCO
“We see improvement in our outcomes and not just the A1C control.”
Director of Quality, Medicaid MCO
“Scene has been a lifesaver for people needing closer monitoring of their medications.”
Public Health Department
“It's such an elegant system. It's truly changed the way we operate.”
Puerto Rico Department of Health
“The Scene team worked closely with the trial team to ensure that any administration issues were caught quickly.”
Sr. Director, Clinical Trial Management, CRO
“Scene Health has a long-standing focus on advancing health equity through daily connections.”
UnitedHealthcare Community
References
- Improvement in utilization for an emerging and high risk population of members with diabetes. Analysis performed by a medical economics team of a large national Medicaid MCO. Cost savings & reduction in ED/IP visits represent impact on Scene engaged members compared to unengaged population.
- Morris, S., Miner, M., Rodriguez, T., Stancil, R., Wiltz-Beckham, D., & Chorba, T. (2017). Notes from the field: Tuberculosis control activities after Hurricane Harvey — Texas, 2017. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 66(49), 1362–1363. http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6649a5
- Holzman, S. B., Zenilman, A., & Shah, M. (2018). Advancing patient-centered care in tuberculosis management: A mixed-methods appraisal of video directly observed therapy. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 5(4), ofy046. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofy046
- McIntire, K., Weis, B., Litwin Ye, L., & Krugman, S. D. (2022). Feasibility of video observed therapy to support controller inhaler use among children in West Baltimore. The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma, 59(10), 1961–1972. https://doi.org/10.1080/02770903.2021.1984525
- Litwin, A. H., Lum, P. J., Taylor, L. E., Mehta, S. H., Tsui, J. I., Feinberg, J., Kim, A. Y., Norton, B. L., Heo, M., Arnsten, J., Meissner, P., Karasz, A., Mckee, M. D., Ward, J. W., Johnson, N., Pericot-Valverde, I., Agyemang, L., Stein, E. S., Thomas, A., Borsuk, C., … HERO Study Group (2022). Patient-centred models of hepatitis C treatment for people who inject drugs: a multicentre, pragmatic randomised trial. The lancet. Gastroenterology & hepatology, 7(12), 1112–1127. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(22)00275-8
- Hallgren, K. A., Darnton, J., Soth, S., Blalock, K. L., Michaels, A., Grekin, P., Saxon, A. J., Woolworth, S., & Tsui, J. I. (2022). Acceptability, feasibility, and outcomes of a clinical pilot program for video observation of methadone take-home dosing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 143, 108896. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2022.108896
- Creary, S., Chisolm, D., Stanek, J., et al. (2020). Measuring hydroxyurea adherence by pharmacy and laboratory data compared with video observation in children with sickle cell disease. Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 67, e28250. https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.28250
- Creary, S., Chisolm, D., Stanek, J., Hankins, J., & O'Brien, S. H. (2019). A Multidimensional Electronic Hydroxyurea Adherence Intervention for Children With Sickle Cell Disease: Single-Arm Before-After Study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 7(8), e13452. https://doi.org/10.2196/13452
- Killian, M. O., Clifford, S., Lustria, M. L. A., Skivington, G. L., & Gupta, D. (2022). Directly observed therapy to promote medication adherence in adolescent heart transplant recipients. Pediatric transplantation, 26(5), e14288. https://doi.org/10.1111/petr.14288
- Scene Health. (2023). Case Study: Improving Hypertension Outcomes with a Medicaid Health Plan. Scene Health. Retrieved from https://insights.scene.health/hubfs/Scene%20Public/Case%20Studies/Health%20Plans/Scene%20-%20Health%20Plan%20Case%20Study%20-%20Hypertension.pdf
- Perry, A., Chitnis, A., Chin, A., Hoffmann, C., Chang, L., Robinson, M., Maltas, G., Munk, E., & Shah, M. (2021). Real-world implementation of video-observed therapy in an urban TB program in the United States. The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, 25(8), 655–661. https://doi.org/10.5588/ijtld.21.0170
- Holzman, S. B., Zenilman, A., & Shah, M. (2018). Advancing Patient-Centered Care in Tuberculosis Management: A Mixed-Methods Appraisal of Video Directly Observed Therapy. Open forum infectious diseases, 5(4), ofy046. https://doi.org/10.1093/ofid/ofy046
- Scene Health. (2022). Emocha Health Rx Healthy Living Flip The ScriptHIV Program Adherence Services Program Review. Scene Health.