Medicare Payment Basics: Accountable Care Organization Payment Systems
Provides an overview of the payment mechanisms associated with Medicare's three accountable care organization (ACO) programs: the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), the Next Generation ACO demonstration, and the Medicare ACO Track 1+ model.
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Care Redesign Survey: Lessons Learned from and for Rural Health
Explores similarities and disparities between healthcare in rural and urban or suburban areas, and discusses barriers to delivering excellent care in rural areas. Based on survey responses from 730 members of the NEJM Catalyst Insights Council.
Author(s): Amy Compton-Phillips, Namita Seth Mohta
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NEJM Catalyst
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Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center Experiencing Improved Community Feedback
Updates the quality improvement work of a Critical Access Hospital in West Virginia that operates a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and Rural Health Clinic (RHC). Focuses on the hospital's accomplishments around patient experience and clinical quality as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Quality of Care and Transition Project.
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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CMS Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative Models 2-4: Year 5 Evaluation & Monitoring Annual Report
Shares findings from an evaluation of Models 2, 3, and 4 of the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative, linking provider payments for an episode of care with the goal of decreasing cost of care while improving quality. Includes information specific to rural BPCI-participating hospitals.
Author(s): The Lewin Group, Abt Associates, GDIT, Telligen
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Population Denominator Data Sources and Data for Use with the HCUP Databases (Updated with 2017 Population Data)
Identifies sources of population data that can be used with Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) databases to calculate rates of hospital care events per population. Includes two rural-urban population data sources. Appendix A, Tables A.6 and A.7 provide U.S. population figures from 2000 through 2017 for a 4-category urban-rural definition and a 6-category urban-rural definition.
Additional links: Appendix A: Population Data Tables
Author(s): Marguerite Barrett, Rosanna M. Coffey, Katharine Levit
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Healthy Clinic Assessments (HCAs)
Describes promising practices and the benefits of healthy clinic assessments (HCAs). Lists the goals of HCAs, and identifies emerging trends and needs based on the 98 HCAs completed at rural, frontier, and underserved urban clinics in Colorado since 2009. Covers a Critical Access Hospital case study example.
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Colorado Rural Health Center
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California's Physician Assistants: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care
Describes regulations on scope of practice for physician assistants (PAs) in California and other states and discusses research on the legislation's effect on healthcare. Examines importance of PAs providing primary care in rural, low-income, and underserved areas. Features statistics including number of PAs per 100,000 population by state as of 2017 and by California region as of 2016, California PA demographics, and PA scope of practice elements by state as of 2018.
Author(s): Timothy Bates, Joanne Spetz, Miranda Werts
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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California's Nurse Practitioners: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care
Describes regulations on scope of practice for nurse practitioners (NPs) in California and other states, and discusses research on the legislation's effect on healthcare. Examines importance of NPs providing primary care in rural and underserved areas. Features statistics including field of educational specialization for California NPs, demographics, and distribution of NPs per 100,000 population.
Author(s): Joanne Spetz
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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California’s Physician Assistants: How Scope of Practice Laws Impact Care
Provides an overview of physician assistants (PAs), focusing on scope of practice regulations in California and evidence for expanding their scope of practice. Discusses how PAs increase access to care, particularly in rural areas, and summarizes studies on the quality and cost-effectiveness of the care they provide. Appendix A includes data on California's PAs, such as their distribution, demographics, and practice setting. Appendix B identifies physician assistant scope of practice elements for each state.
Author(s): Timothy Bates, Joanne Spetz, Miranda Werts
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Healthforce Center at UCSF
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2017 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Provides a comprehensive summary and data analysis of healthcare quality and access in the U.S., including a discussion of disparities encountered by race/ethnicity and geographic locations along the rural-urban continuum. Addresses access to healthcare, patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, affordability, healthy living, and effective treatment.
Date: 09/2018
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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