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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Association Between the Value-Based Purchasing Pay for Performance Program and Patient Mortality in US Hospitals: Observational Study
Examines the impact of Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program on mortality for pneumonia, heart failure, and acute myocardial infarction by comparing data from acute care hospitals participating in the program to data from over 1,300 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and 44 hospitals in Maryland not in the program.
Author(s): Jose F. Figueroa, Yusuke Tsugawa, Jie Zheng, E. John Orav, Ashish K. Jha
Citation: BMJ, 9(353), i2214
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Pender Community Hospital Surpassing Project Goals
Explains how Pender Community Hospital (PCH), a 21-bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH) located in Pender, Nebraska, improved its financial and operational performance through the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project. Focuses discussion on relocating the clinic, enhancing retail pharmacy and swing bed services, increasing marketing efforts, and restructuring therapy programs.
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Innovation in Rural Health Care: Contemporary Efforts to Transform into High Performance Systems
Provides themes and strategies focused on reducing the challenges related to healthcare innovation in rural areas based on discussions with rural and frontier innovators held September 2013 and July 2015. Includes a brief summary of programs and interventions developed by the rural and frontier organizations participating in these discussions.
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Quality Measures and Sociodemographic Risk Factors: The Rural Context
Demonstrates how rurality and sociodemographic variables may impact patient outcomes for rural populations using rural appropriate quality measures. Estimates the impact of adjusting quality measurement for the rural environment.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Katy B. Kozhimannil, Shailendra Prasad, Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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LGBTQ Healthcare: Building Inclusive Rural Practices
Discusses the challenges rural LGBTQ individuals face in accessing quality care and what rural healthcare providers can do to improve the healthcare experience for this patient population.
Author(s): Zachary Toliver
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Effects of Community-Based Health Worker Interventions to Improve Chronic Disease Management and Care Among Vulnerable Populations: A Systematic Review
Reports on a review of 67 studies evaluating the effectiveness of community-based health workers (CBHWs) as an intervention model for chronic disease management and care among low-income, underserved, and racial and ethnic minority populations at risk for health disparities. Discusses the roles and tasks of CBHWs, the effectiveness of their intervention, their qualifications and training, and the reimbursement and sustainability of CBHWs.
Author(s): Kyounghae Kim, Janet S. Choi, Eunsuk Choi, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 106(4), e3–e28
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
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Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations: April 2016
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary area of interest in the April 2016 edition relates to coinsurance calculations for outpatient services received at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Chicot Memorial Medical Center Utilizes SRHT Project to Prepare for the Future
Highlights the successes and lessons learned from a Financial Operational Assessment (FOA) performed by Chicot Memorial Medical Center, a Critical Access Hospital, in Lake Village, Arkansas. The FOA was completed as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project.
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Improving the Care of Dual Eligible Patients in Rural Federally Qualified Health Centers: The Impact of Care Coordinators and Clinical Pharmacists
Discusses a care coordination project that included 3 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and 502 patients in rural West Virginia and a tertiary care referral hospital in southern West Virginia to determine if expanded use of care coordinators and clinical pharmacists could improve the care experience and healthcare outcome of dual eligible patients.
Author(s): Daniel Doyle, Mary Emmett, Amber Crist, Craig Robinson, Michael Grome
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 7(2) 118-121
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
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Indian Health Service: Actions Needed to Improve Oversight of Patient Wait Times
Reviews Indian Health Services (IHS) oversight policies and finds healthcare access measurement issues within IHS due to poor performance tracking in place. Highlights inadequate services at some facilities that have resulted in long wait times and lower quality of care provided.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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