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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency medical services

Travel Time as an Indicator of Poor Access to Care in Surgical Emergencies
Results of a study to determine how proximity to emergency care impacts disease complexity for patients with acute surgical conditions. Features statistics including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics by travel time, with breakdowns by rural, micropolitan, and metropolitan areas.
Author(s): Nina M. Clark, Alexandra H. Hernandez, Mia S. Bertalan, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(1), e2455258
Date: 01/2025
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Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model: Final Evaluation Report
Presents quantitative and qualitative results from the evaluation of the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) Model, a voluntary model that allowed ambulance care teams to use alternate models of emergency healthcare to improve quality and lower care costs. Describes the characteristics of ET3 participants, the extent to which ET3 interventions successfully prevented emergency department (ED) visits, and how average Medicare Parts A and B spending for patients that received ET3 interventions compared to patients who had low acuity ED visits. Discusses challenges and barriers to delivering ET3 interventions. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendix
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Georgia Physician Workforce Report: Based on 2023-2024 Licensure Renewal Data and New Licensees, Primary Care and Core Specialties
Measures and tracks trends in physician demographics, supply, and distribution, using data from January 2023 to December 2024. Features statistics for all Georgia physicians and those specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB/GYN, general surgery, psychiatry, and emergency medicine, and maps showing counties with no physicians in these specialties as of 2024.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
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Where the Road Ends: Emergency Care Sensitive Conditions Drive Excess Mortality in Medevac-Dependent Rural Alaska
Research letter detailing how poor access to emergency care and sociodemographic conditions contribute to disparities in mortality outcomes in rural Alaska, utilizing CDC WONDER 1999-2020 mortality data. Compares age-adjusted mortality rates for injuries, emergency care-sensitive conditions, and non-emergency care sensitive conditions in off road and on road communities.
Author(s): Brian Rice, Carla Britton, Stacy Rasmus, Tina Hernandez-Boussard
Citation: Emergency Medicine Journal, 2024, 214444
Date: 12/2024
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South Dakota Department of Health 2024 Annual Report
Describes activities and accomplishments of the South Dakota Department of Health in 2024. Includes sections on public health preparedness and response, rural health, emergency medical services, health information technology, family and community health, and licensure and accreditation.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organization: South Dakota Department of Health
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Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS) Report: Year 1 and Year 2 Cohort Analysis
Provides data from the first two cohorts of ground ambulance organizations selected to participate in the Ground Ambulance Data Collection System. Includes response rates, information on data cleaning and validation, statistics summarizing responses, and analyses exploring relationships between costs per service and organizational characteristics. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, rural, and super rural areas.
Additional links: Codebook
Author(s): Andrew W. Mulcahy, Sara E. Heins, Petra W. Rasmussen, et al.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Identifying Best Practices for Improving the Evaluation and Management of Stroke in Rural Lower-Resourced Settings: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Discusses the value of quality improvement and expanded stroke service availability in underserved rural and remote settings. Identifies disparities in stroke care access and patient outcomes, and provides strategies related to policy, investment, training, and inter-organizational cooperation which address challenges in prehospital, inpatient, and postacute care, thrombolysis and ED care, patient transfers, and thrombectomy.
Author(s): Kori S. Zachrison, Kaiz S. Asif, Sherita Chapman, et al.
Citation: Stroke
Date: 12/2024
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National Rural Health Day: Highlighting Challenges Facing Rural Communities
A blog post that provides an overview of rural health challenges in Indiana and nationwide, such as workforce challenges, hospital closures, lack of access to emergency services, and more. Includes rural versus urban and county-level data points as well as references to additional resources.
Author(s): Zachary Ammerman
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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USDA Rural Development Rural Health: What We Do
Presents an overview of USDA Rural Development funding for rural health in fiscal year 2024. Covers telehealth and broadband, rural facilities, economic development, housing, infrastructure, mental health and substance use, and emergency medical services.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: USDA Rural Development
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Indiana EMS 2025 Report
Reports on emergency medical services (EMS) in Indiana based on meetings throughout 2023 and 2024 with EMS stakeholders. Focuses on funding and sustainability, operations, education, training, and workforce. Includes discussion on EMS access in rural areas.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Indiana Department of Homeland Security
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