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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Pioneering Telehealth in Mississippi: Lessons for Facilities Leaders
Describes the implementation and accessibility of a virtual state healthcare program offering specialized care and public health services to rural communities through telehealth technology.
Author(s): Alex Raubicheck
Citation: HealthSpaces Blog
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
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Ensuring Access to Quality Health Care in Vulnerable Communities
Highlights the health characteristics and conditions of vulnerable populations in rural and urban communities, and the essential healthcare services as identified by the American Hospital Association Task Force on Ensuring Access in Vulnerable Communities. Discusses several strategies recommended by the task force to address social determinants of health, enhance virtual care services to reform healthcare delivery and payment methods, and support hospitals in their efforts to provide the needed health services.
Author(s): Jay Bhatt, Priya Bathija
Citation: Academic Medicine, 93(9), 1271-1275
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
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Substance Use Disorder Treatment Policy Recommendations for the State of Indiana: Final Report - September 2018
Assessment of Indiana's treatment system for substance use disorders (SUDs), based on interviews with stakeholder groups, consultation with national experts, focus groups, and a review of public data sets. Includes 6 recommendations in the categories of treatment system transformation, SUD workforce, and underserved populations. Discusses barriers to treatment in rural areas.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Minutes, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 10-12, 2018
Summarizes the 84th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS), which was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, and focused on rural Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and oral healthcare access. Offers perspectives from a national level and from North and South Carolina, including the work of the Duke Endowment, and summarizes potential policy recommendations.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Hepatitis C Within a Single Health System: Progression Along the Cascade to Cure Is Higher for Those With Substance Misuse When Linked to a Clinic With Embedded Support Services
Recognizes the barriers to treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by identifying patient and HCV clinic characteristics associated with the achievement of sustained virologic response (SVR) in a large medical center serving a rural population. Characteristics documented included proximity to the health center, household income and assets, availability of private insurance, medical comorbidities, and patients with recorded substance misuse. Suggests models for expanding access to treatment in rural areas through increased prescribing by primary care providers and through telehealth.
Author(s): J. E. Sherbuk, K. A. McManus, E. T. Rogawski McQuade, et al.
Citation: Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 5(9)
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
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Opioid Crisis: Status of Public Health Emergency Authorities
Examines the effectiveness of public health emergency authorities' response to the opioid crisis. Discusses the different public health emergency authorities selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the activities underway to combat the opioid crisis.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Healthy Farmers, Prosperous Farms Video
Presents a video discussing the importance of health insurance in maintaining access to healthcare for farmers and their families. Details the rates of injuries for farmers and the risks that operating a farm without health insurance can pose to both the farmers themselves and their business.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Maryland Council
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California's Physician Assistants: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care
Provides an overview of physician assistants (PAs), focusing on scope of practice regulations in California and evidence for expanding their scope of practice. Discusses how PAs increase access to care, particularly in rural areas, and summarizes studies on the quality and cost-effectiveness of the care they provide. Appendix A includes data on California's PAs, such as their distribution, demographics, and practice setting. Appendix B identifies physician assistant scope of practice elements for each state.
Author(s): Timothy Bates, Joanne Spetz, Miranda Werts
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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National Food Affordability: A County-Level Analysis
Explores sociodemographic factors contributing to food affordability, with emphasis on differences between rural and urban areas. Features statistics on select food-related characteristics of U.S. counties, with breakdowns by rural or urban location and by Appalachian or Delta counties and other counties.
Author(s): Anne Cafer, Georgianna Mann, Sujith Ramachandran, Michelle Kaiser
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
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Veterans Choice Program: Further Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Timely Payments to Community Providers
Examines how long payments took for healthcare providers enrolled in the Veterans Choice Program and actions the Veterans Administration has taken to address these issues. The Veterans Choice Program was created to help increase veterans access to healthcare, particularly in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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