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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

The Rural Emergency Hospital and Value-Based Care
Summarizes the new Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) legislation, outlines local considerations before REH conversion, and prepares stakeholders to comment when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services releases REH proposed rules for public input. Addresses questions regarding anticipated proposed rules and describes opportunities to inform REH rulemaking.
Date: 08/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Leveraging Quality Measurement to Improve Rural Health, Telehealth, and Healthcare System Readiness: Final Environmental Scan Report
Presents the results of an environmental scan of literature related to barriers and facilitators of rural telehealth for healthcare system readiness, as well as a scan of quality measures relevant to rural telehealth during emergencies. Summarizes policies and practices related to telehealth and the healthcare system, with a focus on federal policy changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Date: 07/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Rural/Urban Differences in Discharge from Rehabilitation in Older Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury
Compares rural and urban rates of discharge from skilled nursing facilities for 61,021 older adults with traumatic brain injury between 2011 and 2015 to determine quality of care. Discusses factors predicting successful discharge and reasons for not successfully discharging between rural and urban patients.
Author(s): Marie C. Anderson, Emily Evans, Mark R. Zonfrillo, Kali S. Thomas
Citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 69(6), 1601-1608
Date: 06/2021
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Evaluation of the State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Round 2: Model Test Final Report
Final report on the Round 2 State Innovation Models (SIM) program across eleven participating states - Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington. Discusses the adoption of delivery models and payment reforms related to value-based payment (VBP) and alternative payment models (APMs). Examines whether the implementation efforts and healthcare delivery system reforms impacted the quality of care, health outcomes, population health, and spending.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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HIV Treatment Outcomes in Rural Georgia Using Telemedicine
Results of a study to compare the effectiveness of HIV care delivered through telemedicine (TM) with the face-to-face (F2F) model, based on chart reviews of a total of 385 Georgia patients who attended a TM clinic in Dublin or a F2F clinic in Augusta between May 2017 and April 2018. Features statistics with breakdowns including sex, age, race, and comorbidities.
Author(s): Folake J. Lawal, Moshood O. Omotayo, Tae Jin Lee, Arni S. R. Srinivasa Rao, Jose A. Vazquez
Citation: Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 8(6)
Date: 06/2021
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Partnership Forum: The Role of Research in the Transformation of Veterans Affairs Community Care
Discusses how research has shaped the Veterans Affairs' Office of Community Care since its inception in 2015. Highlights the effect research has had on care coordination, quality of care, and network adequacy, among other measures, for all veterans including those in rural areas.
Author(s): Michelle A. Mengeling, Kristin M. Mattocks, Denise M. Hynes, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59, (6, Suppl3), 232-241
Date: 06/2021
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Quality Time: Sharing PIE - Using "Small Data" to Drive Big Improvements
Podcast episode exploring how two Critical Access Hospital (CAH) leaders utilize data for quality improvement. Discusses how different kinds of data have informed quality improvement initiatives and considerations for analyzing data in low-volume contexts.
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Interorganizational Care Coordination of Rural Veterans by Veterans Affairs and Community Care Programs: A Systematic Review
Details the findings of a systematic review of the efficacy of care coordination initiatives by Veterans Affairs (VA) to care for rural veterans. Distinguishes data from pre- and post-Veterans Choice Act and post-MISSION Act. Defines organizational policy and administration, culture, and mechanisms of community care programs, as well as relational practices, contextual factors, and third-party administrators.
Author(s): Lynn A. Garvin, Marianne Pugatch, Deborah Gurewich, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59, (6, Suppl3), 259-269
Date: 06/2021
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April 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2021 meeting. Covers Medicare's skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and proposed replacement, streamlining CMS's portfolio of alternative payment models, rebalancing the Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, revising Medicare's indirect medical education payments to better reflect teaching hospital costs, Medicare vaccine coverage and payment, and improving Medicare's policies for separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system. Includes a discussion of training rural physicians, among other rural references.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries in Five States: An Update
Describes the provider mix caring for rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington, using 2014 data. Examines the quality of care, number of annual visits, and the distances traveled for treatment of several conditions. Compares 2014 data with estimates from 1998, to assess the changes in geographical access to care. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural locations.
Date: 04/2021
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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