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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Promising Practice: Michigan Center for Rural Health Plays Unique Role in Hospital Quality Improvement
Details the unique role the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH) plays as a liaison between the state's 21 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and the Michigan Hospital Association (MHA) to facilitate quality of care, reduce patient readmission rates, and improve patient safety throughout the state.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Hospital Compare Quality Measure Results for CAHs, 2016
Examines Hospital Compare inpatient and outpatient process of care and structural measures among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in 2016. Includes data on reporting rates and performance for specific quality measures, and state-by-state comparison of CAH reporting rates for inpatient and outpatient measures.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Alex Evenson, Tongtan Chantarat, Michelle Casey
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center: SRHT Project Well Under Way
Profiles Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center's (MHHCC) progress as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition Project, completed in 2017, focused on improving quality of care and transitions of care throughout its facilities. MHHCC is an 18-bed, not-for-profit Critical Access Hospital in Grantsville, West Virginia. MHHCC also operates a Rural Health Clinic in Grantsville and a Federally Qualified Health Center in Glenville.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Identifying a Core Set of Rural-Relevant Measures for Hospital and Ambulatory Settings
Describes selection criteria and processes used to create a draft core set of measures, lists the measures, and describes measurement gap areas identified by the Measures Applications Partnership Rural Health Workgroup, a public-private partnership of healthcare stakeholders. First in a series of 3 reports documenting the Workgroup's continuing efforts.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum MAP Rural Health Advisory Workgroup
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Patient Safety and Adverse Events, 2011 and 2014
Reports on patient safety and adverse events and medical or surgical cases that may be at risk for a patient safety or adverse event, based on data from 34 states. Data is for all community, non-rehabilitation hospitals and discharges from all payers, including the uninsured. Includes overall patient safety data for rural and urban hospitals.
Author(s): Pamela L. Owens, Rhona Limcangco, Marguerite L. Barrett, Kevin C. Heslin, Brian J. Moore
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Evaluation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services
Report by a committee of experts detailing veterans' ability to access mental health services through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Analyzes access to care, quality of care, and current barriers to both. Presents effective and efficient models for providing mental healthcare to veterans. Mentions rural throughout the report.
Additional links: Key Findings and Recommendations, Read Online
Author(s): Committee to Evaluate the Department of Veterans Affairs Mental Health Services
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Affiliation Partners Sought to Prepare Small Hospital for Value-Based Care
Details how Grinnell Regional Medical Center (GRMC) in Grinnell, Iowa, followed a robust due diligence process to identify affiliation partners and prepare for participation in risk-based reimbursement models. GRMC is a 49-bed private, nonprofit medical center that serves 6 rural counties in Iowa.
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Taking Stock: Policy Opportunities for Advancing Rural Health
Examines the progress of health system transformation and discusses the challenges that remain for rural people, places, and providers. Organized around seven main topics: Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, insurance coverage and affordability, quality, healthcare finance and system transformation, workforce, and population health. Provides background information on each topic and shares policy suggestions for addressing each topic's most pressing issues.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Charles Alfero, Andrew F. Coburn, et al.
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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An Interim Evaluation Report of the Innovative Projects Portfolio of the Medicare Flex Grant Program
Provides background on the Flex Program and the Integration of Innovative Health Care Models (Innovative Projects) program area. Evaluates the impact of the Innovative Projects program area across seven participating states, focusing on activities involving the transition to value-based care, telehealth, care coordination, quality improvement, and system delivery in rural communities. Final implementation results are described in Implementation and Early Results of the Flex Program's Innovative Models Program Area: Final Evaluation Report.
Author(s): Sara Kahn-Troster, John Gale, Anush Hansen, Andrew Coburn
Date: 01/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Transforming Health Care from the Ground Up
Describes two examples of innovation driven by doctors, nurses, administrators, entrepreneurs, and patients involving a major transformation of healthcare delivery. One example was an initiative developed through the University of Mississippi Medical Center where a telehealth network was created to increase patient access to care in rural areas with a focus on Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Author(s): Vijay Govindarajan, Ravi Ramamurti
Citation: Harvard Business Review
Date: 2018
Type: Document
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