Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals
Early Adoption of Telehealth/Remote Patient Monitoring and Hospital Revenue Changes During COVID-19
Evaluates telehealth and remote patient monitoring use between 2019 and 2020 among 1,742 rural and urban hospitals to determine the impact of COVID-19 on utilization and revenue. Discusses potential policy measures given study findings.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Citation: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 31(10)
Date: 12/2025
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Evaluates telehealth and remote patient monitoring use between 2019 and 2020 among 1,742 rural and urban hospitals to determine the impact of COVID-19 on utilization and revenue. Discusses potential policy measures given study findings.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Citation: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 31(10)
Date: 12/2025
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Rural Hospital Financial Distress: Relative Risk in 2025
Infographic with a state-level map showing the number and percent of rural hospitals in each state at highest relative financial distress risk in 2025. Features statistics showing states with multiple hospitals, one hospital, and no hospitals at highest risk. Includes information on states with highest percentage of rural hospitals at highest relative risk of financial distress.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, George Pink, Julie Perry, Mark Holmes
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Infographic with a state-level map showing the number and percent of rural hospitals in each state at highest relative financial distress risk in 2025. Features statistics showing states with multiple hospitals, one hospital, and no hospitals at highest risk. Includes information on states with highest percentage of rural hospitals at highest relative risk of financial distress.
Author(s): Tyler Malone, George Pink, Julie Perry, Mark Holmes
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Local Availability of Neonatal Intensive Care at Rural Hospitals with Childbirth Services
Discusses hospital and county characteristics for 89 rural hospitals offering childbirth services in 2021 based on proximity to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Includes comparisons of characteristics for those hospitals more than and less than 30 miles from a NICU.
Author(s): Emily C. Sheffield, Clara E. Busse, Julia D. Interrante, Sara C. Handley, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Citation: Journal of Perinatology, 2025
Date: 11/2025
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Discusses hospital and county characteristics for 89 rural hospitals offering childbirth services in 2021 based on proximity to neonatal intensive care units (NICU). Includes comparisons of characteristics for those hospitals more than and less than 30 miles from a NICU.
Author(s): Emily C. Sheffield, Clara E. Busse, Julia D. Interrante, Sara C. Handley, Katy Backes Kozhimannil
Citation: Journal of Perinatology, 2025
Date: 11/2025
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Facilitators of Strong Quality and Financial Outcomes in Critical Access Hospitals
Examines leadership traits, management strategies, and other governance and collaboration-based supports for positive quality and financial outcomes in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), utilizing insights from interviews of leaders at 10 CAHs which met high financial and quality benchmarks. Provides interview excerpts and identifies themes.
Author(s): Robert Barclay, Zoe Pringle, Megan Lahr, et al.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Examines leadership traits, management strategies, and other governance and collaboration-based supports for positive quality and financial outcomes in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), utilizing insights from interviews of leaders at 10 CAHs which met high financial and quality benchmarks. Provides interview excerpts and identifies themes.
Author(s): Robert Barclay, Zoe Pringle, Megan Lahr, et al.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Third Party Negotiated Hospital Pricing in Rural and Urban Hospitals within 12 U.S. States
Examines the gross and negotiated pricing for common services in rural and urban hospitals. Bases findings on samples from 12 states and focuses on costs of routine care, imaging, and childbirth.
Author(s): Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Aaron P. Smith, Jeffrey C. Talbert
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Examines the gross and negotiated pricing for common services in rural and urban hospitals. Bases findings on samples from 12 states and focuses on costs of routine care, imaging, and childbirth.
Author(s): Lindsey R. Hammerslag, Aaron P. Smith, Jeffrey C. Talbert
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Characteristics of Critical Access Hospitals with High Financial and Quality Metric Performance
Examines Critical Access Hospital (CAH) financial and quality performance utilizing Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MQBIP) data. Provides characteristics of CAHs and their respective measures according to 5 financial and 5 quality benchmarks.
Author(s): Lauren Wallace, George H Pink, Kristie Thompson, et al.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Examines Critical Access Hospital (CAH) financial and quality performance utilizing Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MQBIP) data. Provides characteristics of CAHs and their respective measures according to 5 financial and 5 quality benchmarks.
Author(s): Lauren Wallace, George H Pink, Kristie Thompson, et al.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Office of Rural Health Policy Investments: Fact Sheet
Provides an overview of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant programs in Fiscal Year 2025. Summarizes and briefly describes funding awarded to address rural behavioral health, expand the rural health workforce, increase access to care, advance maternal health, support rural health research and information dissemination, and support rural hospitals.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Provides an overview of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) grant programs in Fiscal Year 2025. Summarizes and briefly describes funding awarded to address rural behavioral health, expand the rural health workforce, increase access to care, advance maternal health, support rural health research and information dissemination, and support rural hospitals.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality After Delivery Hospitalization Among Rural Residents Bypassing Local Care for Urban Hospitals
Examines severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMMM) when labor and delivery patients bypass rural, local hospitals to give birth at urban hospitals. Analyzes 235,375 rural versus urban births in South Carolina and associated 1-year postpartum follow-up visit data for rates of SMMM.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Haoyuan Gao, Jihong Liu, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2544522
Date: 11/2025
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Examines severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMMM) when labor and delivery patients bypass rural, local hospitals to give birth at urban hospitals. Analyzes 235,375 rural versus urban births in South Carolina and associated 1-year postpartum follow-up visit data for rates of SMMM.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Haoyuan Gao, Jihong Liu, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(11), e2544522
Date: 11/2025
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Funding Rural Health: The Role and Reach of Federal Support
A series of briefs and spotlights focused on how the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) supports population health in rural Kansas and the rural United States. Focuses on FORHP funding processes and organizational structure, distribution of funds, the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program, and Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.
Author(s): Shelby C. Rowell, Wyatt J. Beckman, Viktoria Sterkhova
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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A series of briefs and spotlights focused on how the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) supports population health in rural Kansas and the rural United States. Focuses on FORHP funding processes and organizational structure, distribution of funds, the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program, the Rural Health Care Services Outreach Program, and Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.
Author(s): Shelby C. Rowell, Wyatt J. Beckman, Viktoria Sterkhova
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Small Practices Guide: Getting Started with Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) Clinical Quality Measure (CQM) Reporting
Provides an overview of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) clinical quality measures (MIPS CQMs). Describes how small practices can report MIPS CQMs, whether participating as an individual clinician, group, subgroup, or Alternative Payment Model (APM) Entity.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Provides an overview of Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) clinical quality measures (MIPS CQMs). Describes how small practices can report MIPS CQMs, whether participating as an individual clinician, group, subgroup, or Alternative Payment Model (APM) Entity.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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