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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Leveraging Telehealth to Support Aging Americans
Reviews the potential benefits of telehealth for Americans 65 and older. Covers remote patient monitoring, federal and state regulations, and best practices from health insurers and healthcare providers. Includes case studies from rural areas.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organizations: AHIP, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care
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Activation and Utilization of an Electronic Health Record Patient Portal at an Academic Medical Center: Impact of Patient Demographics and Geographic Location
Analyzes the rates of patient portal activation and usage associated with the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics by patients in rural and urban areas of the state. Identifies population groups with the lowest activation rates and discusses possible barriers to accessing patient portals.
Author(s): Sarah E. R. Oest, Maia Hightower, Matthew D. Krasowski
Citation: Academic Pathology, 5
Date: 10/2018
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Access in Brief: Rural and Urban Health Care
Compares healthcare access and use of services for children and adults with Medicaid to those with private insurance or no insurance for both rural and urban areas and for adults with disabilities. Includes access data by age group, income, and race/ethnicity, and utilization data for office and emergency room visits. Addresses access to prescription drugs and eyeglasses as well as barriers to healthcare access.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Geographic Availability of Low-Dose Computed Tomography for Lung Cancer Screening in the United States, 2017
Includes state-level tables and maps showing locations of lung cancer screening sites and percentage of population ages 55-79 lacking access to a center, and lung cancer mortality versus accessibility of screening centers. Helps identify rural areas in need of screening program creation or expansion.
Author(s): Jan M. Eberth, Parisa Bozorgi, Logan M. Lebrón, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 10/2018
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Life in Rural America
Summarizes the results of a survey of rural adults living in the U.S. Includes survey response data and statistics on a variety of topics such as: drug addiction or abuse and opioids; the economy; health conditions; suicide; and more.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, NPR, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Developing Telemental Health Partnerships Between State Medical Schools and Federally Qualified Health Centers: Navigating the Regulatory Landscape and Policy Recommendations
Provides recommendations for overcoming barriers to promoting telemental health services partnerships between medical schools and health centers. Discusses rural-urban disparities in provision of mental health services, credentialing, remote electronic health records access, insurance issues, and billing.
Author(s): John C. Fortney, Richard C. Veith, Amy M. Bauer, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 35(3), 287-297
Date: 10/2018
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Key Informant Perspectives on Rural Social Isolation and Loneliness
Describes challenges and opportunities related to health impacts of social isolation in rural areas, using data from interviews with 22 experts from 11 states and the District of Columbia. Addresses gaps in the literature on rural-urban differences in social isolation and offers suggestions for policy changes and programmatic interventions.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Alexandra Ecklund, Megan Lahr, et al.
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Resilient Rural America: Alabama: Perry County
Series of articles about various facets of life in Perry County, a rural community characterized both by extreme poverty and generations of strong families who have weathered adversity. Includes discussion of health disparities and the need for additional healthcare services and resources for people fleeing domestic violence. Part of the Resilient Rural America series.
Author(s): Blake Tommey
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: Baptist News Global
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Federal Legislation to Address the Opioid Crisis: Medicaid Provisions in the SUPPORT Act
Brief details the Medicaid provisions in the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act. Discusses provisions aimed at treating substance use disorder(SUD) in rural areas.
Author(s): MaryBeth Musumeci, Jennifer Tolbert
Date: 10/2018
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Supporting Family Physician Maternity Care Providers
Summarizes strategies, provides suggestions, and examines the role family physicians play in providing maternity care to the underserved. Also presents ideas for training and retaining family physician maternity care providers in rural areas.
Author(s): Jessica Taylor Goldstein, Scott G. Hartman, Matthew R. Meunier, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 50(9), 662-671
Date: 10/2018
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