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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Strengthening Medicaid Long-term Services and Supports in an Evolving Policy Environment: A Toolkit for States
Shares strategies states can use to reform their long-term services and supports (LTSS) framework, focusing on improving LTSS in two key areas: rebalancing LTSS to increase the proportion of LTSS provided in community-based settings and integrating LTSS with physical and behavioral health services through managed care. Uses case studies to provide examples of each strategy, and discusses rural considerations throughout.
Additional links: Brief for Legislators, Summary of Reforms
Author(s): Stephanie Anthony, Arielle Traub, Sarah Lewis, et al.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Pender Community Hospital Uses SRHT Project to Propel Forward
Highlights a Critical Access Hospital in Nebraska that participated in a Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project focused on discharge issues, electronic health record improvements, and Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) status for system clinics. Discusses project implementation, hospital culture, and project outcomes.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Where Are They Now: Indian Programs on the GAO High Risk List
Features a Senate Committee on Indian Affairs oversight hearing discussing three high risk programs serving American Indians and Alaska Natives. Features testimony from representatives of the Government Accountability Office, the Bureau of Indian Education, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Indian Health Service.
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
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Implementation and Early Results of the Flex Program's Innovative Models Program Area: Final Evaluation Report
Reports on the implementation of the Flex Program and the integration of the Innovative Health Care Models (Innovative Projects) program area in 7 states focused on telehealth, care coordination, and quality improvement. Highlights lessons learned, program discussion, and the evaluation methods for each of the projects. Builds on a 2018 briefing paper, An Interim Evaluation Report of the Innovative Projects Portfolio of the Medicare Flex Grant Program.
Author(s): John A. Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster, Andrew Coburn
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Report to Congress: Current State of Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning and Capacity Building Models
Reports on the impact of technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models as required by the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act. Examines how such models are being used to improve healthcare quality and address health workforce capacity, particularly in rural areas, the evidence behind model effectiveness, and evidence gaps. Provides recommendations on expanding model adoption and its use in continuing medical education. Appendix includes an inventory of Project ECHO models and other similar models by state and in several other countries.
Additional links: Appendix F: Evaluation of Technology-Enabled Collaborative Learning and Capacity Building Models
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Evaluation of the Million Hearts® Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model: First Annual Report
Evaluates the first year of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model to determine whether, and how, it reduces first-time strokes, heart attacks, and Medicare spending. Covers participant characteristics, including rural or urban status and organization type; approaches used to implement the model; preventative care efforts; experiences with CMS support tools for the project; and reasons for joining and leaving the model.
Author(s): Leslie Conwell, Linda Barterian, Adam Rose, et al.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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A Nine-Step Roadmap for Implementing Lean in Rural Hospitals
Provides highlights from a speaker at the AHA 2019 Rural Health Care Leadership Conference on how rural hospitals can implement Lean principles to improve quality, reduce costs, and make processes more efficient.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Roosevelt General Hospital Excels in Early Project Implementation
Highlights a rural, Short Term Acute Care (STAC) hospital in New Mexico that worked with the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project in relation to Financial and Operational Assessment (FOA). Summarizes project implementation, successes, and impacts.
Date: 02/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Putting Patients First: Today's Disparities Research Leading to Health Equity Tomorrow
Editorial describing efforts of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to promote health equity in urban and rural areas, through increasing awareness of disparities, developing solutions, and implementing actions. Summarizes articles included in a special Health Services Research issue devoted to health disparities research.
Author(s): Cara V. James
Citation: Health Services Research, 54(1), Part II, 203-205
Date: 02/2019
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National Racial/Ethnic and Geographic Disparities in Experiences with Health Care Among Adult Medicaid Beneficiaries
Investigates whether experiences of adult Medicaid beneficiaries differ by race or ethnicity and rural or urban status, using data from 270,243 respondents to the 2014‐2015 Nationwide Adult Medicaid Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Survey. Features statistics with breakdowns by large urban, small urban, or small town locations.
Author(s): Steven C. Martino, Megan Mathews, Denis Agniel, Nate Orr, Shondelle Wilson-Frederick, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 54(1), Part II, 287-296
Date: 02/2019
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