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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Examining the Cost Effectiveness of Teaching Health Centers
Examines areas where the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program can produce savings, focusing on physician spending for patient encounters during and after residency training and patient Medicaid and Medicare insurance coverage. Identifies the location of THCGME programs and highlights program outcomes, including the percent of graduates who work in rural and underserved areas and practice primary care.
Author(s): Candice Chen, Leighton Ku, Marsha Regenstein, Fitzhugh Mullan
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health, George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health Department of Health Policy and Management, RCHN Community Health Foundation
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services: Chapter 3
Examines the adequacy of Medicare payments to hospitals in 2017 and offers recommendations for changes. Includes a discussion of rural hospital closures and provides rural/urban breakdowns for hospital occupancy rates, Medicare inpatient discharges, and Medicare margins.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2019
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses opioids, Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medicare's quality incentive program for hospitals, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2019
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid: improving the structure of Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment reductions, oversight of upper payment limits for supplemental payments to hospitals, and Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to states. Chapter 3 includes the annual report on DSH payments, which provide support to safety-net hospitals to help offset uncompensated care costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients. Table 3-1 identifies DSH spending for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Pender Community Hospital Uses SRHT Project to Propel Forward
Highlights a Critical Access Hospital in Nebraska that participated in a Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project focused on discharge issues, electronic health record improvements, and Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) status for system clinics. Discusses project implementation, hospital culture, and project outcomes.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Implementation and Early Results of the Flex Program's Innovative Models Program Area: Final Evaluation Report
Reports on the implementation of the Flex Program and the integration of the Innovative Health Care Models (Innovative Projects) program area in 7 states focused on telehealth, care coordination, and quality improvement. Highlights lessons learned, program discussion, and the evaluation methods for each of the projects. Builds on a 2018 briefing paper, An Interim Evaluation Report of the Innovative Projects Portfolio of the Medicare Flex Grant Program.
Author(s): John A. Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Andrew Coburn
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Planning and Partnerships: Coordinating Rural Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Response
Discusses how rural healthcare facilities can prepare for natural and man-made disasters, the need for flexibility, and the importance of learning from others' experiences. Includes examples of rural communities and providers responding to a tornado in Iowa, an earthquake in Alaska, and an armed hostage standoff in South Dakota.
Author(s): Tami Lichtenberg
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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5 Strategies Rural Hospitals Are Using to Bolster Their Workforce
Provides examples from rural hospitals and health systems of how they are addressing workforce development and planning. Highlights Rural Training Tracks (RTT), grow your own programs, telehealth, behavioral health integration, and care teams including nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Fact Sheet: Telehealth
Discusses the growth of telehealth use in hospitals from 2010 through 2017, and ongoing challenges to expanding and providing telehealth services. Covers rural considerations throughout the document.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Rural Health Outcomes and Infrastructure in Arizona
Summarizes Arizona's health insurance coverage by county, rural population by county, and rural health infrastructure. Includes a map showing the location of Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, and Federally Qualified Health Centers in rural areas of the state.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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