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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare needs and services

Rural Emergency Department Staffing: Potential Implications for the Quality of Emergency Care Provided in Rural Areas
Reports results of a study of rural emergency department staffing and discusses potential implications of staffing for the quality of emergency care provided in rural areas.
Date: 08/2007
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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Substance Abuse Among Rural Youth: A Little Meth and a Lot of Booze
Examines substance abuse among rural youth, with rural-urban comparisons for methamphetamine, Oxycontin, and alcohol abuse.
Date: 06/2007
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Retail Pharmacy Participation in Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans in 2006
Discusses the extent to which retail pharmacies participate in Medicare Part D stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs). Includes comparison of pharmacy participation rates among metropolitan and nonmetropolitan pharmacies.
Date: 06/2007
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition Hospitalizations Among Rural Children
Reports results from a study examining children's inpatient hospitalizations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions (ACSCs), rural residence, poverty, health insurance, and physician supply. Admission rates for five conditions were examined: asthma, diabetes short-term complications, gastroenteritis, urinary tract infection, and perforated appendix.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Alana Knudson, Michele Burlew, Gestur Davidson
Date: 06/2007
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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Preventing Hospitalizations in Depressed Rural Primary Care Patients
Policy brief examining whether depressed rural primary care patients are more likely than urban patients to be hospitalized for mental and physical problems. Investigates differences in hospitalization rates and if differences can be explained by specialty outpatient care. Determines whether rural patients face more insurance barriers to outpatient care.
Author(s): Scott Adams, Stan Xu, Fran Dong, Kathryn Rost
Date: 05/2007
Sponsoring organization: WICHE Center for Rural Mental Health Research
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Ambulance Providers: Costs and Expected Medicare Margins Vary Greatly
Examines the differences in providers' costs of ambulance transports in 2004 and factors that contributed to these differences. Includes information for urban, rural, and super-rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2007
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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340B Drug Pricing Program: Results of a Survey of Participating Hospitals
Presents the results of a survey of pharmacy directors at rural hospitals buying discounted outpatient drugs through the 340B program. The purpose was to understand the perspectives of pharmacy directors on the 340B program in general, the financial impact of the program, and which specific program features presented barriers to its broader implementation.
Author(s): Claudia Schur, Karen Cheung, Andrea Radford, Rebecca Slifkin, Marianne Baernholdt
Date: 05/2007
Sponsoring organizations: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis, North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Why Are Fewer Hospitals in the Delivery Business?
Examines the declining availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. Examines potential causes for this trend and explores the effects of medical malpractice reforms.
Author(s): Lan Zhao
Date: 04/2007
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Rural Hospital Emergency Department Quality Measures: Aggregate Data Report
Reports findings from a project that tested emergency department quality measures in a voluntary sample of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in Washington State.
Author(s): Jill Klingner, Ira Moscovice
Date: 03/2007
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Closures of Hospital-Based SNF Units: Insights from Interviews with Administrators, Discharge Planners and Referring Physicians
Reports on interviews with officials at fifteen acute care hospitals with Medicare skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in 1998, some of which were still open and some of which had closed. Addresses the reasons, and consequences, of hospitals' decisions to close SNF units. The study included hospitals in urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Korbin Liu, Emily Jones, Urban Institute
Date: 03/2007
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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