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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospice and palliative care

MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2024
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Standing Technical Expert Panel for the Development, Evaluation, and Maintenance of Post-Acute Care (PAC) and Hospice Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Measurement Sets: Summary Report
Describes a December 15, 2023, Technical Expert Panel (TEP) regarding the development of additional cross-setting measures for the Post-Acute Care (PAC) and Hospice Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs), and filling measurement gaps with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Universal Foundation measures. Summarizes TEP comments on adding measures to PAC and Hospice QRPs in four domains: 1) behavioral and mental health, 2) patient experience of care, 3) pain management, and 4) immunization. Covers panelists' discussions on the appropriateness of the existing measure set and potential new measures, setting-specific considerations, data sources, and other topics related to each domain. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Abt Associates, Acumen, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Caregiver Recruitment Strategies for Interventions Designed to Optimize Transitions from Hospital to Home: Lessons from a Randomized Trial
Compares in-person and virtual recruitment strategies for a video-based intervention for family caregivers (FCGs) to improve transitional palliative care for critically ill patients in rural Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Includes data on effectiveness of each strategy and diversity of recruited FCGs.
Author(s): Allison M. Gustavson, Molly J. Horstman, et al.
Citation: Trials, 25, 454
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
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Directory of Mississippi Health Facilities
Directory of Mississippi health facilities with address, phone number, and accreditation status if applicable, current as of April 30, 2024. Includes a list of rural health facilities on pages 87-98.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Directory
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy: Hospice Services: Chapter 9
Discusses payment adequacy for hospice and palliative support services. Includes data on average costs by day and aggregate margins by urban and rural status, as well as demographics on Medicare decedents who used hospice during 2010 and between 2018-2022. Compares the actual hospice utilization rates in micropolitan, rural adjacent, rural nonadjacent, and frontier areas to urban hospice utilization rates.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2024
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D. Includes two mandated reports on special needs plans for beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid and the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Health Research Recap: Post-Acute Care in Rural Areas: The Role of Swing Beds and Nursing Homes
Offers statistics on availability of post-acute care in rural areas through skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospice, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and swing beds. Includes sections on prospective payment system and cost-based reimbursement, and provides statistics on the proportion of nursing home closures in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas from 2008-2018.
Author(s): Per Ostmo
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Rural–Urban Disparities and Trends in Utilization of Palliative Care Services among US Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer
Reports on palliative care use among patients with metastatic breast cancer, utilizing 2004-2019 National Cancer Database data. Includes breakdowns by level of rurality, race, ethnicity, and other demographic and clinical characteristics. Discusses palliative care access and treatment disparities, and identifies trends.
Author(s): Jincong Q. Freeman, Adam W. Scott, Ted O. Akhiwu
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
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Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review Measures Under Consideration: 2023 Recommendations Report
Reviews the 42 pre-rulemaking quality measures the Battelle's Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) considered during the 2023-2024 Pre-Rulemaking Measure Review (PRMR) cycle. Discusses measures for clinician, hospital, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Quality Measurement
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Implementation Costs of Technology-Enhanced Transitional Palliative Care for Rural Caregivers
Examines the feasibility and sustainability of a family caregiver-focused transitional palliative care intervention that uses telehealth technologies. Presents results of a budget impact analysis of a randomized control trial, community-dwelling rural caregivers of hospitalized patients with a serious, life-limiting illness and receiving palliative care during hospitalization. Describes potential reimbursement mechanisms available to offset health system costs to providing transitional palliative care to support caregivers, including transitional care management and chronic care management service reimbursement.
Author(s): Brystana G. Kaufman, Diane E. Holland, Catherine E. Vanderboom, Cory Ingram, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care, 41(1), 38-44
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
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