Rural Health
News by Topic: Infectious diseases
Jan 26, 2023 - Reports on rural and urban COVID-19 infection rates for the week of January 12-January 18. Notes that rural areas experienced a 13% drop and metropolitan areas had a 21% increase in infection rates compared to the previous week. Death rates in rural counties were 9% lower than the prior week, but in urban areas there was a 1.3% increase. Provides a county-level data map and COVID-19 trend charts comparing rural and urban rates over time.
Source: The Daily Yonder
CDC: Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork Reduction Act Review
Federal Register
Jan 23, 2023 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is allowing an additional 30 days for comments on a proposed information collection project titled "National Network of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinical Prevention Training Centers." This information collection supports the management of the National Network of Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinical Prevention Training Center (NNPTC) project and evaluates the reach and impact of the NNPTC's training activities. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
FDA: Authorization of Emergency Use of Certain Medical Devices During COVID-19; Availability
Federal Register
Jan 23, 2023 - The Food and Drug Administration has issued an Emergency Use Authorization for certain medical devices related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These authorizations are effective on their date of issuance.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 20, 2023 - Reports on rural and urban COVID-19 infection rates for the week of January 5-January 11. Notes that Covid-19 infection rates in metropolitan and rural areas were lower than the previous week, but rural COVID-19 deaths reached a rate not seen since September. Provides a county-level data map and COVID-19 trend charts comparing rural and urban rates over time.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jan 19, 2023 - Federal regulators waived addiction telehealth restrictions due to COVID-19 so that appointments could be done virtually, but making these changes permanent is a topic of debate. The complexities of state and federal regulations have allowed some patients to administer methadone at home, while others are not allowed to do so.
Source: NewsNation
Jan 18, 2023 - The 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act temporarily required companies with fewer than 500 employees and all public employers to give workers a minimum of two weeks of paid sick leave, but the act expired at the end of 2020. Paid leave regulations vary from state to state and and workers in rural areas face even more challenges than those in cities, including greater distances to hospitals and fewer medical providers.
Source: Kaiser Health News
Jan 18, 2023 - The population in rural areas decreased during the 2010-2020 decade, but grew by 0.13% from 2020-21, according to Census estimates. Powder River County, Montana experienced population growth that would not have occurred without migration, as deaths outnumbered births there during this period. Opportunities for remote work because of COVID-19 may have contributed to rural population growth in the months following the 2020 census.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jan 13, 2023 - Reports on rural and urban COVID-19 infection rates for the week of December 29-January 4. Notes that Covid-19 infection and death rates were once again higher in rural counties than in metropolitan areas, and counties in the rural South had higher rates than other nonmetropolitan counties. Provides a county-level data map and COVID-19 trend charts comparing rural and urban rates over time.
Source: The Daily Yonder
Jan 12, 2023 - Notice of interim final rule with comment request from the Department of Defense modifying the TRICARE regulation by adding freestanding End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) facilities as institutional providers within the TRICARE program and establishing reimbursement for such facilities. This interim final rule also temporarily adopts Medicare's New Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatments Add-on Payments (NCTAPs) for COVID-19 cases that meet Medicare's criteria. This interim final rule is effective January 12, 2023. Comments are due by March 13, 2023.
Source: Federal Register
Jan 12, 2023 - The Community Education Group in West Virginia will use two $50,000 grants to help community-based organizations provide mPox education to LGBTQ residents in rural parts of the 13 Appalachian states. The group will create educational materials and host meetings to reduce barriers to care for those in the LGBTQ community who are most at risk.
Source: The Daily Yonder