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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Defense Health Care: Plans Needed to Ensure Implementation of Required Elements for TRICARE's Managed Care Support Contracts
Report highlights the Government Accountability Office recommendations for the implementation of changes to the Department of Defense's TRICARE managed support contracts that were required by Congress. Evaluates the specific improvements relating to healthcare delivery and touches on their importance in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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EMS in Dixie County, Florida: Driving Data for Improved Health
Video detailing how Dixie County, Florida used supplemental Flex funding to improve reporting quality data collection of its rural emergency medical services (EMS). Explores the way the county used the supplement funding to improve the rate of data collection and data quality of the county's EMS.
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Healthcare Professionals' Mental Health Needs: Where Can They Go?
Provides an overview of the mental health needs of healthcare providers and the barriers to accessing care. Features the work of physician health programs, professional societies, state licensure boards, and other groups to help ensure providers' mental health needs are addressed. Discusses the impact of provider wellness on patient safety and healthcare quality.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Burnout: Measurement Tool(s), Cause(s) and Impact(s)
Reports on what is known about burnout among rural healthcare providers, highlighting several research studies. Discusses the impact of burnout on turnover, productivity, healthcare quality, and safety.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Patients' Experiences in CAHs: HCAHPS Results, 2018
Provides results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey for calendar year 2018. Summarizes reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes detailed tables that allow state-by-state comparison of response rates and overall CAH performance.
Author(s): Mariah Quick, Megan Lahr, Tongtan Chantarat, Ira Moscovice
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Helping Patients Living in Rural Areas Transition from Hospital to Home - The ROADMAP Study
Evaluates a hospital discharge planning program's effectiveness in providing support to rural patients returning home after staying in a hospital. Includes patients' demographic information and compares the number of emergency department visits and rehospitalizations of the control group with those of the intervention group.
Author(s): Tom Seekins, Jennifer Wong, Lynda Yearous, et al.
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Stem the Tide: Opioid Stewardship Measurement Implementation Guide
Identifies best practices for hospitals and health systems to use data to improve opioid stewardship. Addresses six elements that can support facilities through implementing a data-driven opioid stewardship program. Provides a list of quality improvement measures for hospitals and health systems to track progress. Highlights a consortium of providers serving rural communities across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin focused on access to treatment and interventions that address social determinants of health.
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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The Future of Rural Value‐Based Health Care and Surge Capacity
Describes the conflict between value-based care and surge capacity investments at rural hospitals, as well as the role of primary care providers can play during disasters. Presents questions for consideration about the future of rural value‐based care, payment, and healthcare networks and community partnerships in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, and Choice
Examines factors that influence maternal and newborn care in the United States, including social determinants such as geographic variability in access to birth settings. Explores challenges faced by women in rural and underserved areas. Includes statistics on infant mortality rates in 2014 with breakdowns by rural or urban locations and county-level maps showing access to providers and hospitals offering obstetric services.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Children, Youth, and Families
Date: 2020
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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The VA MISSION Act of 2018: A Potential Game Changer for Rural GME Expansion and Veteran Health Care
Describes features of the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act of 2018, including expansion of graduate medical education (GME) to rural areas, modernization of facilities, and financial aid for providers willing to accept VA assignments in shortage areas. Explores ways in which the MISSION Act can promote more effective and efficient care programs for veterans in rural and underserved areas.
Author(s): Anthony P. Albanese, Edward T. Bope, Karen M. Sanders, Marjorie Bowman
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 36(1), 133-136
Date: 2020
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