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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare facilities

Health Care Transparency: CMS Needs More Information on Hospital Pricing Data Completeness and Accuracy
Provides an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hospital price transparency requirements before and after 2024 updates to the requirements. Describes users' experiences with hospital pricing data before the 2024 updates. Examines CMS's enforcement of hospital price transparency requirements and offers recommendations to CMS regarding the sufficiency and accuracy of the data reported. Table 3 compares CMS enforcement actions by hospitals' rural or urban designation between 2021 and 2023.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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One or Two Health Systems Controlled the Entire Market for Inpatient Hospital Care in Nearly Half of Metropolitan Areas in 2022
Examines the competitiveness of hospital markets in 2022 by analyzing RAND Hospital Data and American Hospital Association (AHA) survey data. Presents data on the share of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) controlled by a small number of health systems, the level of market concentration in MSAs, and the share of hospitals affiliated with health systems over time. Compares the share of hospitals affiliated with health systems in rural and non-rural areas.
Author(s): Jamie Godwin, Zachary Levinson, Tricia Neuman
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Nebraska - Breaking the Pattern: Driving Initiatives to Safely Transition Patients Across the Care Continuum
Discusses challenges of discharging hospitalized patients in Nebraska to post-acute care. Provides data on patients awaiting discharge, reasons for delay, impact of Medicare advantage, and possible solutions. Includes county-level information on availability of long-term care or assisted living facilities and discusses impact on rural areas.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Nebraska Hospital Association
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Rural Hospital Performance in Guideline-Recommended Ischemic Stroke Thrombolysis, Secondary Prevention, and Outcomes
Examines the performance of rural versus urban stroke center and non-stroke center hospitals in delivering guideline-recommended ischemic stroke thrombolysis, providing secondary prevention, and producing favorable outcomes among patients treated for acute ischemic stroke. Utilizes 2017-2019 Get With the Guidelines-Stroke hospital data of 692,839 patients.
Author(s): Shumei Man, David Bruckman, Ken Uchino, et al.
Citation: Stroke, 55(10), 2472-2481
Date: 09/2024
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Costs of Treat-and-Release Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2021
Explores the cost of treat-and-release emergency department (ED) visits in the United States in 2021. Describes findings from an analysis of the 2021 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Emergency Department Sample. Presents data on the aggregate costs, average cost, and number of ED visits by patient and hospital characteristics, including patient age; sex; primary expected payer; community-level income; and metropolitan, micropolitan, or rural status.
Author(s): Marc Roemer
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Health Care Worker Recruitment and Retention in New York State: What Are the Issues?
Report summarizing health workforce recruitment and retention difficulties experienced by providers in New York State, and reasons for these difficulties. Examines challenges in hospitals, nursing homes, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and other facilities, especially in rural areas of New York.
Additional links: Infographic
Author(s): Robert Martiniano, Sage Shirey
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Age-Friendly Health Systems Integration into Rural Primary Care Clinics: A Journey of One Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program
Examines implementation of the Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) 4Ms Framework in rural Arkansas primary care clinics. Details program aspects related to workforce training, workplace culture, and resource provision and discusses evidence-based approaches to implementation. Provides data on the AFHS 4Ms Framework's impact on patient engagement and healthcare quality for older adults in rural settings.
Author(s): Leah Tobey-Moore, Katherine Scalzo, Stacie Massey, Robin McAtee
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
Date: 09/2024
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Who Owns Rural Hospitals? A Comparison of Findings across Four National Datasets
Explores rural hospital ownership characteristics as reported across four national datasets: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Healthcare Cost Reporting Information System (HCRIS); the CMS Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS); the Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP); and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Compares rural hospitals with consistent ownership characteristics across datasets with those with inconsistent reports of ownership by Census division, Medicare payment classification, long-term care service provision, Rural Health Clinic (RHC) service provision, and more.
Author(s): Anastasia Dai, Tyler Malone
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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"Saving People's Lives": Access to Mental Health and Addiction Services in Rural Communities
Podcast episode discussing challenges of accessing mental health and addiction services in rural areas. Highlights strategies implemented by New Mexico's Presbyterian EspaƱola Hospital to address these challenges and increase access to treatment.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Obstetric Outcomes among Rural Parturients across US Urban and Rural Hospitals
Examines severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMM) among rural parturients giving birth at rural versus urban hospitals, utilizing 2015-2022 Vizient Clinical Data Base (CDB) data of 214,296 patients. Includes data and discussion of the relationship between SMM and receipt of blood transfusion, race and ethnicity, type of hospital, and other clinical and demographic factors.
Author(s): Courtney L. Strickland, Dmitry Tumin, Alyssa Harris, Hannah Murphy, James L. Whiteside
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 24(3), 8836
Date: 09/2024
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