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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Technology for health and human services

Dec 29, 2025 - Announces the distribution of $50 billion of funding for the Rural Health Transformation Program. Highlights goals of the funding including making rural healthcare more accessible, strengthening the rural healthcare workforce, modernizing rural health infrastructure and technology, streamlining workflows, and testing innovative payment models.
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Dec 29, 2025 - Notice of proposed rule from the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) proposing deregulatory actions identified in HHS regulations regarding health information technology standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria and certification programs for health information technology, as well as information blocking. ASTP/ONC intends for the revisions and removal of select regulations to streamline and reduce administrative burdens on healthcare providers, health information technology (IT) developers, and the health IT community overall. Comments are due by February 27, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 29, 2025 - Notice from the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy (ASTP)/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) withdrawing non-finalized provisions of the August 5, 2024, proposed rule titled "Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Patient Engagement, Information Sharing, and Public Health Interoperability." The withdrawal of the non-finalized provisions of the August 5, 2024, proposed rule is effective December 29, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 23, 2025 - Notice of a request for information on what the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can do to accelerate the adoption and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical care. Feedback is requested on how the technology can be most effectively applied, to foster public trust, to reduce uncertainty that impedes innovation, and align federal incentives to deploy AI in a way that enhances productivity, reduces burden, lowers healthcare costs, and improves health outcomes. Comments will be used to inform regulations, reimbursement, and research and development. Comments are due by February 23, 2026.
Source: Federal Register
Dec 16, 2025 - Highlights a presentation from a nurse educator on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve patient health literacy. Notes that the technology could be useful for rural nurses working with limited resources.
Source: UAB School of Nursing News
Dec 16, 2025 - Highlights the Baseline Survey 2024 from the Regional Rural Development Centers, a collection of datasets exploring topics including household, business, and community well-being to better understand challenges faced by rural and urban communities. The survey included 18,596 respondents.
Source: North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Dec 16, 2025 - A call for papers for a special issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Papers should discuss innovation in rural healthcare delivery including topics such as workforce, capacity building, policy, tribal communities, technology, and anything else related to regional, rural, and remote health. The deadline to submit a manuscript is May 1, 2026.
Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Dec 5, 2025 - Some mobile clinics in Michigan have been upgraded to include satellite internet service. Describes how reliable internet facilitates access to healthcare for rural communities.
Source: CMU News
Dec 1, 2025 - Notice of a proposed rule from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that would clarify and modify existing regulations impacting the deployment of wireless infrastructure with particular focus on state and local regulations. Comments are due December 31, 2025.
Source: Federal Register
Nov 24, 2025 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comment on the following information collections: 1) 13th SOW Quality Innovation Network—Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) and American Indian Alaskan Native (AIAN) Measure Data Collection; 2) Provider Directory Data for Medicare Plan Finder; and 3) CMS Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Enrollment Registration, CMS EDI Enrollment Form, and CMS EDI Enrollment Attestation Form. Comments are due by January 23, 2026.
Source: Federal Register