Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a panel of U.S. senators that AI nurses can provide “concierge care” to rural patients. They are using some of their funding from the $50 billion federal Rural Health Transformation Program to expand AI among rural health organizations. A recent academic paper found that only 26 peer-reviewed studies about AI in rural healthcare were published from 2010 through April 29, 2025. Mues said the Valentine clinic has been using AI scribes that record appointments and generate notes describing the visit. Huang, who has written about AI in rural healthcare, said rural hospitals and clinics may not have the hardware or IT staff needed to support the technology.