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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Accountable Care Organizations: Looking Back and Moving Forward
Identifies key lessons from Accountable Care Organization (ACO) activities from their inception through 2015, examines how ACOs can build on successes, and informs policymakers and others about ways to further the development of effective ACOs. Includes a brief overview of virtual and rural ACO development.
Author(s): Rob Houston, Tricia McGinnis
Date: 01/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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2016 Rural Hospital Replacement Facility Study
Examines the effects of facility replacement on rural Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), including service volumes, operating efficiency, financial performance, and healthcare quality.
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Delivery System Reform and Implications for Rural Communities
Policy brief discussing how rural healthcare providers can benefit from participating in delivery system reform (DSR) to be able to continue providing accessible, quality health services. Offers recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, such as requiring rural healthcare providers to participate in CMS quality programs and having CMS incorporate rural-relevant quality measures that are appropriate for rural healthcare providers.
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Critical Access Hospital-Relevant Measures for Health System Development and Population Health
Describes performance measures for assessing health system development and population health in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Discusses how the measures can help CAHs and other stakeholders benchmark and improve performance.
Author(s): John Gale, Andrew Coburn, Zach Croll
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Characteristics and Quality of Inpatient Stays at Hospitals Affiliated with Health Systems, 2009-2012
Compares hospitals in centrally organized multihospital systems, noncentralized systems, and independent hospitals. Looks at rural-urban location, region, bed size, other hospital and patient characteristics, and mortality rates for selected conditions.
Author(s): Brian Moore, Zeynal Karaca, Rachel Mosher Henke, Herbert Wong
Date: 12/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Rural Hospital and Physician Participation in Private Sector Quality Initiatives
Results of a study to analyze 12 quality reporting and quality improvement programs being used by dominant insurers in Alabama, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Utah, between 2011 and 2013.
Author(s): Amanda Diehl, Michelle Casey, Alex Evenson
Date: 10/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Hospital Value-based Purchasing: Initial Results Show Modest Effects on Medicare Payments and No Apparent Change in Quality-of-Care Trends
Evaluates the initial effects of the Hospital Value-based Purchasing (HVBP) program on Medicare bonus payments and penalties, the quality of care provided, and selected quality improvement efforts during FY 2013-15. Analyzes data from safety net, small urban, and small rural hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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A Cross-Sectional Study on Health Differences Between Rural and Non-Rural U.S. Counties Using the County Health Rankings
Examines the rural and urban differences in health and healthcare within the U.S. using data accessed from the 2013 County Health Rankings and Roadmaps. Vital health factors evaluated include mortality, morbidity, health behaviors, clinical care, social and economic factors, and the physical environment.
Author(s): Timothy J. Anderson, Daniel M. Saman, Martin S. Lipsky, M. Nawal Lutfiyya
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 15, 441
Date: 10/2015
Type: Document
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Rural Hospital Toolkit for Transitioning to Value-based Systems
Toolkit developed to help rural hospitals improve their financial, operational, and quality performance. Shares best practices and strategies to help rural providers transition to value-based payment and population health.
Date: 09/2015
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Post-discharge Rehabilitation Care Delivery for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries with Stroke
Discusses the factors associated with post-discharge rehabilitation care (PDRC) that influence the recovery and quality of life for rural stroke survivors receiving Medicare. Factors highlighted include distance to healthcare, type of rehabilitation, initial hospital admission, and patient race/ethnicity.
Additional links: Fact Sheet
Author(s): Jessica D. Bellinger, Zhimin Chen, Saundra Glover, et al.
Date: 09/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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