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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

An Initiative to Implement Immediate Postpartum Long-Acting Reversible Contraception in Rural New Mexico
Study examining 7 rural hospitals in New Mexico and their efforts to implement immediate postpartum (IPP) long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) through a program offered by the New Mexico Perinatal Collaborative. Discusses challenges to implementing the program, including reimbursement obstacles, based on interviews with 20 key staff members.
Author(s): Hannah C. Palm, James H. Degnan, Sharla D. Biefeld, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 222, S911, 1-7
Date: 04/2020
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Hospital Access in the Fifth District and COVID-19
Examines hospital access in West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Discusses concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic and provides state- and county-level statistics and data on number of hospital beds per capita, average distance to nearest hospitals, and more.
Author(s): Surekha Carpenter, Tim Sablik
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
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Patient Perceptions of Video Visits Using Veterans Affairs Telehealth Tablets: Survey Study
Highlights a study on the perceptions of Veterans Affairs (VA) patients on the use of video-based telehealth via VA-issued tablets. Compares perceptions of rural and urban veterans and discusses some of the healthcare needs addressed through telehealth, including mental healthcare, primary care, and rehabilitation, among others.
Author(s): Cindie Slightam, Amy J Gregory, Jiaqi Hu, et al.
Citation: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(4), e15682
Date: 04/2020
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COVID-19 Exposes Threat to America's Broken Rural Health Care System
Recording of an April 21, 2020, webinar featuring members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Rural Health Task Force. Discusses the Task Force's policy recommendations to stabilize the rural healthcare infrastructure and ensure local access to care as outlined in the report Confronting Rural America's Health Care Crisis. Describes how these recommendations will address the closures of obstetrics units, promote value-based care, provide incentives for clinicians to stay in rural areas, and remove barriers to telehealth. Transcript available in the video description.
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force
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Rural Broadband in the Time of COVID-19
April 16, 2020 webinar recording highlights the state of rural broadband and its capacity to handle the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses remote work, distance learning, telehealth, the CARES Act, and the pandemic in tribal communities. Webinar is presented in two parts.
Additional links: Part 2 - April 22, 2020
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Daily Yonder, Rural Assembly
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Wilson Medical Center Implements Creative Care Alternatives to Address COVID-19
Describes Wilson Medical Center's implementation of curbside and telehealth services in response to COVID-19 in rural Kansas. Offers lessons learned from the transition to alternative solutions and future goals for adapting healthcare services as needed.
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Confronting Rural America's Health Care Crisis
Offers policy recommendations to stabilize the rural healthcare infrastructure and ensuring local access to care. Discusses strategies to provide financial relief to rural providers, preserve obstetric services, expand telehealth services, and address workforce shortages. Includes brief references to policy actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional links: Rural Hospital Transformation Models, Summary, The Case for Expanding Telehealth Services, July 2020
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force
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Community Health Centers in a Time of Change: Results from an Annual Survey
Summarizes results from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Geiger Gibson 2019 Community Health Center Survey. Explores trends in patient health coverage, healthcare affordability, and health center revenue; social determinants of health; potential implications of Medicaid work requirements; participation in the Title X program; and other challenges facing health centers. Includes rural references throughout. Presents survey response data by urban and rural status in Appendix A.
Author(s): Jessica Sharac, Anne Markus, Jennifer Tolbert, Sara Rosenbaum
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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2020 Rural Hospital Sustainability Index
Reports on an analysis of rural hospital financial viability. Identifies the number of hospitals by state at financial risk of closing and the number by state at high financial risk that are considered essential for community trauma access. Full report is available with email registration.
Additional links: State-Based Data
Author(s): David Mosley, Daniel DeBehnke
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Guidehouse
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Concussion in Rural America: Experts Detail Injury and Recovery of Traumatic Brain Injury
Reports on concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), in rural areas. Discusses the impact of these injuries, the role of support networks, TBI training for rural clinicians, rural TBI data, and management of mTBI in rural areas.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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