Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality
Post-Hospital Access to Preferred and High-Quality Skilled Nursing Facilities for Patients With Opioid Use Disorder
Examines access to preferred and high-quality skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) among Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Utilizes 2017-2021 Medicare inpatient claims data to analyze 6,490,593 patients with OUD and their likelihood to enter preferred and high-quality SNFs according to patient demographics and urbanicity of metro, micro, small town, or rural.
Author(s): Talia S. Benheim, Momotazur Rahman, Andrew R. Zullo, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 61(2), e70110
Date: 04/2026
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Examines access to preferred and high-quality skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) among Medicare beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Utilizes 2017-2021 Medicare inpatient claims data to analyze 6,490,593 patients with OUD and their likelihood to enter preferred and high-quality SNFs according to patient demographics and urbanicity of metro, micro, small town, or rural.
Author(s): Talia S. Benheim, Momotazur Rahman, Andrew R. Zullo, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 61(2), e70110
Date: 04/2026
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Prioritizing High-Volume Repair Hospitals with Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms, for Rural and Nonrural Patients
Examines associations between in-hospital ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) mortality, hospital rAAA repair volume, patient rurality, and patient transfer status, using 2015-2020 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (HCUP SID) data of 1,744 patients who underwent rAAA repair in New York and Florida.
Author(s): Neha H. Shetty, Hasan Nassereldine, Kristina E. Rudd, et al.
Citation: Journal of Vascular Surgery, 83(4), 1089-1099
Date: 04/2026
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Examines associations between in-hospital ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) mortality, hospital rAAA repair volume, patient rurality, and patient transfer status, using 2015-2020 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database (HCUP SID) data of 1,744 patients who underwent rAAA repair in New York and Florida.
Author(s): Neha H. Shetty, Hasan Nassereldine, Kristina E. Rudd, et al.
Citation: Journal of Vascular Surgery, 83(4), 1089-1099
Date: 04/2026
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Telehealth Resource Center Skills Matrix
Outlines the technical assistance and subject matter expertise of the 14 federally funded Telehealth Resource Centers in specific telehealth topics, clinical specialties, and areas of telehealth implementation.
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Outlines the technical assistance and subject matter expertise of the 14 federally funded Telehealth Resource Centers in specific telehealth topics, clinical specialties, and areas of telehealth implementation.
Date: 04/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Sharing Resources and Working Together: The Rural Collaborative
Provides an overview of the Rural Collaborative, a network of 31 rural public hospitals across Washington state. Describes how the network helps participating hospitals maintain their independence by sharing resources and working together on shared services, peer learning, operational support, and preferred pricing. Discusses the network's history and members, network operations and priorities, and future plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Provides an overview of the Rural Collaborative, a network of 31 rural public hospitals across Washington state. Describes how the network helps participating hospitals maintain their independence by sharing resources and working together on shared services, peer learning, operational support, and preferred pricing. Discusses the network's history and members, network operations and priorities, and future plans.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2026 Merit-Based Incentive Payment (MIPS) Value Pathways (MVPs) Implementation Guide
Provides an overview of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Value Pathways (MVPs), a voluntary reporting option that can be used to meet MIPS reporting requirements for the 2026 performance year. Describes subgroup reporting, reporting requirements, scoring, performance feedback and public reporting, and how to register to report an MVP. Includes information on considerations and exceptions for small practices.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Value Pathways (MVPs), a voluntary reporting option that can be used to meet MIPS reporting requirements for the 2026 performance year. Describes subgroup reporting, reporting requirements, scoring, performance feedback and public reporting, and how to register to report an MVP. Includes information on considerations and exceptions for small practices.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2026 Reporting Options Comparison Resource
Provides an overview of the similarities and differences among the three Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting options: Traditional MIPS, MIPS Value Pathways (MVP), and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Performance Pathway (APP)/APP Plus. Designed to help providers understand which reporting options may be best for their practice. Includes information on reporting flexibilities and scoring for small and rural practices.
Additional links: 2026 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Reporting Options At-A-Glance for Small Practices
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of the similarities and differences among the three Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting options: Traditional MIPS, MIPS Value Pathways (MVP), and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Performance Pathway (APP)/APP Plus. Designed to help providers understand which reporting options may be best for their practice. Includes information on reporting flexibilities and scoring for small and rural practices.
Additional links: 2026 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Reporting Options At-A-Glance for Small Practices
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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CMS Innovation Center: Obligations and Model Testing Progress
Discusses the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Center's (Innovation Center) financial obligations from 2011 through 2024 and how it used the funds to develop and test new healthcare payment and service delivery models. Describes the outcomes of model testing, highlighting four models that CMS certified for expansion. Explores the extent to which the Innovation Center uses selected performance management practices to regularly assess its efforts.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Discusses the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Center's (Innovation Center) financial obligations from 2011 through 2024 and how it used the funds to develop and test new healthcare payment and service delivery models. Describes the outcomes of model testing, highlighting four models that CMS certified for expansion. Explores the extent to which the Innovation Center uses selected performance management practices to regularly assess its efforts.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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A Scoping Review of Certified Nurse-Midwife and Certified Midwife Care in the United States: Assessing Outcomes Across Six Patient Care Domains
Provides a scoping review focused on certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and certified midwife (CM) care and quality measures. Discusses 66 studies focused on safety, effectiveness, patient satisfaction, and more, with 4 studies focused on rural populations.
Author(s): Emma Virginia Clark, Robyn Schafer, Rachel Lane Walden, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly: A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population and Health Policy, 104(1), 220-291
Date: 03/2026
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Provides a scoping review focused on certified nurse-midwife (CNM) and certified midwife (CM) care and quality measures. Discusses 66 studies focused on safety, effectiveness, patient satisfaction, and more, with 4 studies focused on rural populations.
Author(s): Emma Virginia Clark, Robyn Schafer, Rachel Lane Walden, et al.
Citation: The Milbank Quarterly: A Multidisciplinary Journal of Population and Health Policy, 104(1), 220-291
Date: 03/2026
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Transforming Rural Health: Strategies from the Field - Collaborating for Financial Viability
A brief that provides strategies for rural hospital and clinic financial viability. Discusses examples of health facility collaborations that improve access to healthcare services, address workforce shortages, and enhance quality of care.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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A brief that provides strategies for rural hospital and clinic financial viability. Discusses examples of health facility collaborations that improve access to healthcare services, address workforce shortages, and enhance quality of care.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Home Health Care Services: Chapter 8
Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Discusses payment adequacy for home health care services. Features statistics on Medicare margins for home health agencies between 2019-2024 with breakdowns by urban and rural areas, rates of successful discharge and potentially preventable readmissions in urban and rural areas, and the number of home health periods provided to rural beneficiaries.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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