Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality
Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2025 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). 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: 2025 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) At-A-Glance Reporting Options for Small Practices
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and 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). 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: 2025 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) At-A-Glance Reporting Options for Small Practices
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Community Health Centers: Leading Innovation in Health Care
Presents graphs, charts, and data highlighting services provided by Community Health Centers, characteristics of the patients served, and progress made in improving access to healthcare. Reports on health centers' historical growth and recent trends, financial health, healthcare screening and disease prevention, management of chronic diseases, maternal and child health, workforce and service utilization, health information technology, and more. Includes urban-rural comparisons and maps with data by state throughout.
Author(s): Sarah Hurlbert, Mahima Singeetham, Amy Flowers
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Presents graphs, charts, and data highlighting services provided by Community Health Centers, characteristics of the patients served, and progress made in improving access to healthcare. Reports on health centers' historical growth and recent trends, financial health, healthcare screening and disease prevention, management of chronic diseases, maternal and child health, workforce and service utilization, health information technology, and more. Includes urban-rural comparisons and maps with data by state throughout.
Author(s): Sarah Hurlbert, Mahima Singeetham, Amy Flowers
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Community Health Centers
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Rural Healthcare Provider Transition Project (RHPTP) Webinar: Quality Improvement (QI) Alignment Across the Hospital and Clinics is Key to Value-Based Payment (VBP) Success
A recorded webinar that discusses strategies to align quality improvement (QI) projects with value-based payment (VBP) across organizational settings. Discusses clinical quality measures and sustainability of QI. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Slides
Author(s): Lisa Olson, Candy Hanson
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Stratis Health
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A recorded webinar that discusses strategies to align quality improvement (QI) projects with value-based payment (VBP) across organizational settings. Discusses clinical quality measures and sustainability of QI. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Slides
Author(s): Lisa Olson, Candy Hanson
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Stratis Health
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Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2025 MIPS Promoting Interoperability Performance Category Hardship Exception Application Guide
Provides guidance on how clinicians can apply for a MIPS hardship exception. Highlights guidance for having your MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category reweighted to 0% in cases of insufficient internet connectivity, decertified electronic health record technology, or other circumstances out of the clinicians' control.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides guidance on how clinicians can apply for a MIPS hardship exception. Highlights guidance for having your MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category reweighted to 0% in cases of insufficient internet connectivity, decertified electronic health record technology, or other circumstances out of the clinicians' control.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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2024 National CAH Quality Inventory & Assessment National Report
Presents a high-level summary of key data points from the September-November 2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment. Includes data on CAH system affiliation; median average daily census and emergency department volume; median swing bed admissions and swing bed length of stay; hospital inpatient, behavioral health and specialty care, and outpatient and other service lines; and CAH quality payment model participation.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Presents a high-level summary of key data points from the September-November 2024 National Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Quality Inventory and Assessment. Includes data on CAH system affiliation; median average daily census and emergency department volume; median swing bed admissions and swing bed length of stay; hospital inpatient, behavioral health and specialty care, and outpatient and other service lines; and CAH quality payment model participation.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2025 Improvement Activities Performance Category Quick Start Guide
Provides an overview of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) requirements, data collection, and data submission for the improvement activities performance category for the 2025 performance year. Includes information about special status scoring for small practices and clinicians located in a rural or Health Professional Shortage Area.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) requirements, data collection, and data submission for the improvement activities performance category for the 2025 performance year. Includes information about special status scoring for small practices and clinicians located in a rural or Health Professional Shortage Area.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Catalog of Value-Based Initiatives for Rural Providers
Summarizes rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Innovation Center. Designed to help rural healthcare leaders identify HHS value-based programs that are suitable for rural participation. Contains descriptions of each demonstration and provides direct links to the corresponding agency web page.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Summarizes rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Innovation Center. Designed to help rural healthcare leaders identify HHS value-based programs that are suitable for rural participation. Contains descriptions of each demonstration and provides direct links to the corresponding agency web page.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Critical Access Hospital Electronic Clinical Quality Measure (eCQM) Resource List
Resource list for electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs), reflecting new materials and updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 2025 reporting.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) Resource Center
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Resource list for electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs), reflecting new materials and updates from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for 2025 reporting.
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Quality Improvement Technical Assistance (RQITA) Resource Center
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Rural Emergency Medical Services Perspectives on Improving Acute Stroke Care: A Qualitative Study
Examines barriers and facilitators to timely and high-quality acute stroke care in rural communities via interviews with 12 rural EMS professionals in North Carolina. Discusses topics including comprehensive stroke assessment, destination decision protocols, communication between EMS and hospital staff, transport distances, limited staffing, and more.
Author(s): Emma N. Johnson, Mahesh V. Pinapaka, Mary E. Grewe, et al.
Citation: Prehospital Emergency Care, 29(8), 1123–1131
Date: 04/2025
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Examines barriers and facilitators to timely and high-quality acute stroke care in rural communities via interviews with 12 rural EMS professionals in North Carolina. Discusses topics including comprehensive stroke assessment, destination decision protocols, communication between EMS and hospital staff, transport distances, limited staffing, and more.
Author(s): Emma N. Johnson, Mahesh V. Pinapaka, Mary E. Grewe, et al.
Citation: Prehospital Emergency Care, 29(8), 1123–1131
Date: 04/2025
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Opioid Stewardship Programs in Rural Arizona
Provides an overview of Opioid Stewardship Programs (OSPs), and discusses OSP implementation and knowledge in Arizona from a survey of 39 Arizona rural hospital leaders and professionals. Includes an infographic on the results of the OSP survey and links to OSP training resources.
Author(s): Bridget S. Murphy
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Provides an overview of Opioid Stewardship Programs (OSPs), and discusses OSP implementation and knowledge in Arizona from a survey of 39 Arizona rural hospital leaders and professionals. Includes an infographic on the results of the OSP survey and links to OSP training resources.
Author(s): Bridget S. Murphy
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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