Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health information technology

Prioritizing the Expansion of Electronic Medical Record Interoperability Software to Rural Health Care Systems
Policy position paper focused on implementing electronic medical record (EMR) interoperability at rural facilities. Offers policy recommendations to improve rural EMR interoperability.
Author(s): Dennis Boynton, Morgan Block, Madeline Merwin, et al.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients
Offers cybersecurity guidelines for healthcare organizations to help reduce cybersecurity risks. Outlines the top five cybersecurity threats, and discusses best practices to combat these threats. Technical Volume 1 discusses cybersecurity practices for small healthcare organizations.
Additional links: Technical Volume 1: Cybersecurity Practices for Small Health Care Organizations
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: 405(d) Program, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
view details
Landscape of the Health Informatics Workforce: Rapid Response Brief
Focuses on the clinical informatics and public health, population health, and social service informatics subdomains of the health informatics workforce. Mentions resource hubs that serve rural communities by providing guidelines, toolkits, screening tools, and other resources. Examines social determinants of health and gives examples of clinical informatics work that can improve access to care for rural and underserved populations. Features statistics on physicians certified in clinical informatics from 2013-2022.
Author(s): Cynthia LeRouge, Shahida Shahrir, Bianca K Frogner
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
view details
Electronic Health Information Exchange: Use Has Increased, but Is Lower for Small and Rural Providers
Explores states' use of Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act funding for health information exchange efforts. Examines the extent to which the use of electronic health information exchange has changed since the enactment of the HITECH Act and federal efforts that aim to address challenges to the electronic exchange of health information. Discusses differences in the electronic exchange of information between small and rural hospitals and larger, non-rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
In Need of a Checkup: Examining the Cybersecurity Risks to the Healthcare Sector
Recording of a March 16, 2023, U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing on cybersecurity threats facing the healthcare sector. Features testimony from Kate Pierce, the former Chief Information Officer and Chief Information Security Officer of an Alabama Critical Access Hospital, who discusses cybersecurity in small and rural hospitals.
Additional links: Kate Piece, Fortified Health Security - Testimony
Date: 03/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
view details
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
Provides an overview of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Describes ONC focus areas, statutory authorities, funding, and select policy considerations.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
view details
Use of Telemedicine among Office-Based Physicians, 2021
Details the usage of telemedicine by physicians who are office-based, self-employed or employed by a health system, including their specialty, participation in payment models, satisfaction with telemedicine, and continued use post-pandemic. Provides data on rural and urban physician use of telemedicine tools and platforms integrated with electronic health records (EHR).
Author(s): Yuriy Pylypchuk, Wesley Barker
Citation: ONC Data Brief, 65
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
view details
Data Challenges in Identifying Patients Due for Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural Clinics
Analyzes barriers to identifying patients in need of colorectal cancer (CRC) screenings in rural Oregon. Explores the effectiveness of rural primary care clinics and Medicaid health plans utilizing electronic health records (EHRs) for CRC outreach and includes corresponding data.
Author(s): Amanda F. Petrik, Jennifer Coury, Jean Hiebert Larson, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 36(1), 118-129
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
view details
Arizona Rural and Public Health Policy Forum Session Recordings
Lists recorded sessions from the 2023 Arizona Rural & Public Health Policy Forum. Includes topics such as health equity, social determinants of health, tribal health, policy updates, information technology, healthcare cost, and more.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
view details
Interoperability and Methods of Exchange Among Hospitals in 2021
Highlights the advances made and the methods used, as of 2021, in the interoperable exchange of health information for all hospital types: suburban/urban, rural, large/medium, and small. Presents data on the availability and use of electronic health information at point of care, participation rates in national organizations and networks, and the frequency of hospitals that experienced barriers when exchanging patient health information.
Author(s): Yuriy Pylypchuk, Jordan Everson
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
view details