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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

2018 OPPS Medicare Part B Payment Impact Analysis
Examines how changes to the CY 2018 Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) will impact hospitals' net Part B payments. Discusses the payment reduction for drugs purchased through the 340B Program and how the reduction will affect rural and urban hospitals. Includes a state-by-state analysis of aggregate impacts.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: Avalere
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Affiliation Partners Sought to Prepare Small Hospital for Value-Based Care
Details how Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Grinnell, Iowa, followed a robust due diligence process to identify affiliation partners and prepare for participation in risk-based reimbursement models. GRMC is a 49-bed private, nonprofit medical center that serves 6 rural counties in Iowa.
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Young Rural Healthcare Leaders Share Experiences and Insights
Interviews with four Critical Access Hospital leaders under the age of forty, who share their experiences helping their facilities and communities. They also offer advice to others interested in rural hospital leadership. Interviewees include Benjamin Anderson, CEO of Kearny County Hospital in Lakin, Kansas; Melissa Kelly, CEO and CFO of Pender Community Hospital in Pender, Nebraska; Stephanie Orr, CNO at Steele Memorial Medical Center in Salmon, Idaho; and Adam Willmann, CEO and President of Goodall-Witcher Hospital Authority in Clifton, Texas.
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Reinventing Rural Health Care: A Case Study of Seven Upper Midwest States
Examines the state of rural healthcare in seven states - Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming - and uses the findings to determine the impact of existing federal policies, understand ongoing healthcare challenges, and identify opportunities for improvement in rural healthcare access and delivery. Addresses rightsizing healthcare services to fit community needs, creating rural funding mechanisms, building and supporting the primary care physician workforce, and expanding telemedicine services. Analysis is based on interviews with over 90 national thought leaders and key stakeholders.
Additional links: Infographic, Summary – Rural Health Care: Lessons Learned
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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An Interim Evaluation Report of the Innovative Projects Portfolio of the Medicare Flex Grant Program
Provides background on the Flex Program and the Integration of Innovative Health Care Models (Innovative Projects) program area. Evaluates the impact of the Innovative Projects program area across seven participating states, focusing on activities involving the transition to value-based care, telehealth, care coordination, quality improvement, and system delivery in rural communities. Final implementation results are described in Implementation and Early Results of the Flex Program's Innovative Models Program Area: Final Evaluation Report.
Author(s): Sara Kahn-Troster, John Gale, Anush Hansen, Andrew Coburn
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Review of the 340B Drug Pricing Program
Provides extensive background information about the 340B Program, explains the Health Resources and Services Administration's (HRSA) oversight functions, and details requirements for the various covered entities, including rural hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). Also makes recommendations for clarifying the 340B Program's scope and ensuring program integrity is maintained.
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
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Health Center-Based Medical-Legal Partnerships: Where They Are, How They Work, and How They Are Funded
Describes the expansion of medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) among America's health centers. Highlights programs in four states - Colorado, Oregon, Indiana, and California - and explains how MLPs operate, how they are financed, and how state primary care associations are supporting them. Briefly describes the reasons MLPs are more prevalent in urban areas than in rural areas.
Author(s): Alanna Williamson, Jennifer Trott, Marsha Regenstein
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership
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Access to Care: Populations in Counties with No FQHC, RHC, or Acute Care Hospital
Findings brief focusing on the 3 main facility types providing primary care in rural areas and examining how many people will likely have limited access to primary care based on their locations. Includes statistics on numbers of people living in counties without these facilities, with breakdowns by 9 census divisions.
Author(s): Meagan Clawar, Randy Randolph, Kristie Thompson, George H. Pink
Date: 01/2018
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Mass Shootings and Rural Areas
Interview with Mandi Sralla, director of the emergency department of Connally Memorial Medical Center in Floresville, Texas. Describes the facility's response in the wake of a mass shooting in nearby Sutherland Springs in November 2017.
Author(s): John Hick
Date: 2018
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
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Transforming Health Care from the Ground Up
Describes two examples of innovation driven by doctors, nurses, administrators, entrepreneurs, and patients involving a major transformation of healthcare delivery. One example was an initiative developed through the University of Mississippi Medical Center where a telehealth network was created to increase patient access to care in rural areas with a focus on Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Author(s): Vijay Govindarajan, Ravi Ramamurti
Citation: Harvard Business Review
Date: 2018
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