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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals

Geographic Variation in the 2016 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
Findings brief describing differences in profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, other rural hospitals, and urban Prospective Payment Systems hospitals, with breakdowns by census region, census division, and state.
Author(s): George H. Pink, Kristie Thompson, H. Ann Howard, Mark Holmes
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123): Brief Summary of Division E--The Advancing Chronic Care, Extenders, and Social Services (ACCESS) Act
Brief summary of ACCESS Act provisions, and names of experts knowledgeable about each point. Topics include Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), public health, child and family services, foster care, social impact partnerships, child support enforcement, and prison data reporting. Features provisions specific to institutions and services in rural areas, including hospitals, home health, and ambulance services.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2015 Emergency Department Summary Tables
Provides data on ambulatory care emergency department (ED) hospital visits. Table 1 provides metropolitan/nonmetropolitan ED visit data based on hospital location, Table 2 includes metro/nonmetro ED visit data by location of patient residence, and Table 15 has metro/nonmetro injury visit data based on hospital location.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2018
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, telehealth, payment incentive programs, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Additional links: Chapter 14 Online-Only Appendixes: The Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D): Status Report (March 2018 Report, Revised June 25, 2018), Chapter 16 Online-Only Appendixes: Mandated Report: Telehealth Services and the Medicare Program (March 2018 report), Errata Sheet: Table 9-7, Page 255 (March 2018 Report, Revised May 30, 2018)
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2018
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid: managed care, telehealth, and Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. Chapter 2 discusses how the use of telehealth services can help patients access healthcare services in rural and frontier areas. Chapter 3 includes the third annual report on DSH payments, which provide support to safety-net hospitals to help offset uncompensated care costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients. Table 3-2 identifies DSH spending for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Hospital Compare Quality Measure Results for CAHs, 2016
Examines Hospital Compare inpatient and outpatient process of care and structural measures among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in 2016. Includes data on reporting rates and performance for specific quality measures, and state-by-state comparison of CAH reporting rates for inpatient and outpatient measures.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Alex Evenson, Tongtan Chantarat, Michelle Casey
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Employment in Rural Inpatient Healthcare Facilities Was Relatively More Concentrated in the Upper Midwest and Northern Great Plains
Map of rural counties showing the average number of inpatient healthcare facility jobs per 100 county residents in 2011-2015. Includes discussion of regional variations in dependence on rural hospital employment.
Date: 03/2018
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Urban-Rural Differences in Mortality for Atrial Fibrillation Hospitalizations in the United States
Examines differences in mortality rates for rural and urban hospitals for patients hospitalized for atrial fibrillation (AF). Addresses differences by patient demographic characteristics, as well as common secondary diagnoses.
Author(s): Wesley T. O'Neal, Pratik B. Sandesara, Heval M. Kelli, Sanjay Venkatesh, Elsayed Z. Soliman
Citation: Heart Rhythm, 15(2), 175-179
Date: 02/2018
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Hospitals and Health Systems Ensuring Access in Their Communities: A Compendium of Case Examples
Identifies 9 primary strategies used by hospitals to increase access to healthcare services in rural and urban areas and offers examples of each. Covers virtual care options such as telehealth, emergency and urgent care models such as freestanding emergency departments (EDs), rural hospital networks, partnerships with Indian Health Service providers, and strategies to address social determinants of health.
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center: SRHT Project Well Under Way
Profiles Minnie Hamilton Health Care Center's (MHHCC) progress as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition Project, completed in 2017, focused on improving quality of care and transitions of care throughout its facilities. MHHCC is an 18-bed, not-for-profit Critical Access Hospital in Grantsville, West Virginia. MHHCC also operates a Rural Health Clinic in Grantsville and a Federally Qualified Health Center in Glenville.
Date: 02/2018
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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