Rural Health
Resources by State: Massachusetts
State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Evaluation: Model Test Year Four Annual Report
Fourth annual report on Round 1 of the CMS State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - to move providers to value-based payment models (VPMs). Describes the experiences of providers, health systems, consumers, payers, and state officials during the final full implementation year for most Round 1 states. Presents interim impacts on healthcare utilization, cost, and quality for individuals reached by SIM-supported VPMs during the SIM Initiative period. Includes information specific to rural areas.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
Fourth annual report on Round 1 of the CMS State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - to move providers to value-based payment models (VPMs). Describes the experiences of providers, health systems, consumers, payers, and state officials during the final full implementation year for most Round 1 states. Presents interim impacts on healthcare utilization, cost, and quality for individuals reached by SIM-supported VPMs during the SIM Initiative period. Includes information specific to rural areas.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Evaluation: Model Test Year Three Annual Report
Third annual report detailing the findings of CMS's State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - to accelerate health system transformation in the areas of delivery systems, payment models, information technology, workforce development, and more. Focuses on sharing cross-state progress and findings, state-specific findings and lessons learned, and lessons for policymakers. Additional emphasis is placed on monitoring healthcare experience, utilization, and expenditures in participating SIM states.
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
Third annual report detailing the findings of CMS's State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - to accelerate health system transformation in the areas of delivery systems, payment models, information technology, workforce development, and more. Focuses on sharing cross-state progress and findings, state-specific findings and lessons learned, and lessons for policymakers. Additional emphasis is placed on monitoring healthcare experience, utilization, and expenditures in participating SIM states.
Date: 09/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
Trends in the Development of the Dental Service Organization Model: Implications for the Oral Health Workforce and Access to Services
Results of a 2017 survey of dental service organizations, which often build new practices in underserved and rural areas, and case studies of 6 dental support organizations providing general or specialty dentistry in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Shen Wang, Simona Surdu, Elizabeth Mertz, Cynthia Wides
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Workforce Studies, Oral Health Workforce Research Center
view details
Results of a 2017 survey of dental service organizations, which often build new practices in underserved and rural areas, and case studies of 6 dental support organizations providing general or specialty dentistry in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Florida, and Massachusetts.
Author(s): Margaret Langelier, Shen Wang, Simona Surdu, Elizabeth Mertz, Cynthia Wides
Date: 08/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Health Workforce Studies, Oral Health Workforce Research Center
view details
Thirty Miles at Sea — Providing Consistent Care in an Inconsistent Environment
Discusses the challenges of providing emergency department care on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the population fluctuates widely from the off-season to the summer. Describes how Nantucket Cottage Hospital transitioned from an ad hoc system of rotating physicians, to using a professional staffing group, as a way to ensure adequate coverage and focus on providing quality care rather than scheduling.
Author(s): Margot Hartmann, Jason Graziadei
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 376(14), 1306-1307
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
view details
Discusses the challenges of providing emergency department care on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, where the population fluctuates widely from the off-season to the summer. Describes how Nantucket Cottage Hospital transitioned from an ad hoc system of rotating physicians, to using a professional staffing group, as a way to ensure adequate coverage and focus on providing quality care rather than scheduling.
Author(s): Margot Hartmann, Jason Graziadei
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 376(14), 1306-1307
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
view details
State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Evaluation: Model Test Year Two Annual Report
Second annual report detailing the findings of CMS's State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, and Oregon - to accelerate health system transformation in the areas of delivery systems, payment models, information technology, workforce development, and more. Presents results from the second of three planned site visits to the states, including interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Connections made throughout to issues specifically affecting rural healthcare.
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
Second annual report detailing the findings of CMS's State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Vermont, and Oregon - to accelerate health system transformation in the areas of delivery systems, payment models, information technology, workforce development, and more. Presents results from the second of three planned site visits to the states, including interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Connections made throughout to issues specifically affecting rural healthcare.
Date: 08/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
A Pilot Videoconference Group Stress Management Program in Cancer Survivors: Lessons Learned
Discusses the advantages and barriers of developing and implementing a group-based videoconference program that provides interventions to improve the psychosocial outcomes of rural cancer patients following treatment.
Author(s): Eric Zhou, Ann H. Partridge, Jaime E. Blackmon, Evan Morgan, Christopher J. Recklitis
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 16(2), 3863
Date: 06/2016
Type: Document
view details
Discusses the advantages and barriers of developing and implementing a group-based videoconference program that provides interventions to improve the psychosocial outcomes of rural cancer patients following treatment.
Author(s): Eric Zhou, Ann H. Partridge, Jaime E. Blackmon, Evan Morgan, Christopher J. Recklitis
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 16(2), 3863
Date: 06/2016
Type: Document
view details
The Communities That Care Coalition Model for Improving Community Health through Clinical-Community Partnerships: A Population Health Case Report
Discussion paper featuring a community coalition in rural western Massachusetts focused on supporting youth well-being and reducing youth substance abuse. Describes the initiative and the partners involved, including clinicians and public health. Discusses how the Communities That Care Coalition works within a network of local coalitions, including acting as the prevention arm of the region's Opioid Task Force.
Author(s): Jeanette Voas, Katherine Allen, Ruth Potee
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
view details
Discussion paper featuring a community coalition in rural western Massachusetts focused on supporting youth well-being and reducing youth substance abuse. Describes the initiative and the partners involved, including clinicians and public health. Discusses how the Communities That Care Coalition works within a network of local coalitions, including acting as the prevention arm of the region's Opioid Task Force.
Author(s): Jeanette Voas, Katherine Allen, Ruth Potee
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
view details
Integration of Oral Health Into the Well-Child Visit at Federally Qualified Health Centers: Study of 6 Clinics, August 2014-March 2015
Results and analysis of observations and 39 interviews with 42 administrators and staff at 6 clinics in rural, small community, and urban areas in Massachusetts and Maryland. Includes patient demographics and structural characteristics of clinics.
Author(s): Judith Bernstein, Christina Gebel, Clemencia Vargas, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 13
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
view details
Results and analysis of observations and 39 interviews with 42 administrators and staff at 6 clinics in rural, small community, and urban areas in Massachusetts and Maryland. Includes patient demographics and structural characteristics of clinics.
Author(s): Judith Bernstein, Christina Gebel, Clemencia Vargas, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 13
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
view details
Providing Patients with Access to Nutritious Food
Highlights a variety of programs that are helping ensure rural patients have access to healthy food. Features a Critical Access Hospital in Massachusetts, a fruit and vegetable prescription program in Maine, and a research-based heart health initiative in North Carolina.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Highlights a variety of programs that are helping ensure rural patients have access to healthy food. Features a Critical Access Hospital in Massachusetts, a fruit and vegetable prescription program in Maine, and a research-based heart health initiative in North Carolina.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Lessons Learned from the MAVEN Project Pilot: Using Physician Volunteers to Increase Access to Care via Telehealth
Describes the evaluation of pilot program of the Medical Alumni Volunteer Expert Network (MAVEN) Project, which used experienced volunteer physicians to provide consults via telehealth to rural and inner-city providers. Pilot program offered telehealth visits at 3 community health centers in Massachusetts and California.
Author(s): Lori Uscher-Pines, Robert S. Rudin
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
view details
Describes the evaluation of pilot program of the Medical Alumni Volunteer Expert Network (MAVEN) Project, which used experienced volunteer physicians to provide consults via telehealth to rural and inner-city providers. Pilot program offered telehealth visits at 3 community health centers in Massachusetts and California.
Author(s): Lori Uscher-Pines, Robert S. Rudin
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
view details