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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Hospitals

A Review of State Flex Program Plans, 2004-2005
Examines the objectives and project activities proposed by states in their Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) grant applications for Fiscal Year 2004 to strengthen the rural healthcare infrastructure in their states.
Author(s): Stephenie Loux, John Gale, Anush Yousefian, Andrew Coburn, Walter Gregg
Date: 03/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2006
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Critical Access Hospital Year 1 Hospital Compare Participation and Quality Measure Results
Examines the first year participation and quality measure results for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare public reporting database for hospital quality measures. Includes the percent of CAHs participating in the program by state.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 02/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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CAH Participation in Hospital Compare and Initial Results
Examines the participation of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in public reporting of quality measures in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare database. Includes initial Hospital Compare results for CAHs and comparisons with other groups of hospitals.
Date: 02/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Rural Health Research in Progress in the Rural Health Research Centers Program, 10th Edition
Summarizes rural health services research conducted by the Rural Health Research Centers Program of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Date: 02/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Hospital Quality Data: CMS Needs More Rigorous Methods to Ensure Reliability of Publicly Released Data
Describes how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) collects hospital quality measures and ways the process could be improved to better ensure the accuracy of the data. Discusses how rural and urban hospital accuracy scores compare.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Public Health Preparedness: Integrating Public Health and Hospital Preparedness Programs
Examines different models for coordination that local health departments and general acute-care hospitals have employed to improve public health preparedness. Includes discussion of rural issues.
Author(s): Lois M. Davis, Jeanne S. Ringel, Sarah K. Cotton, et al.
Date: 2006
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Pharmacist Staffing and the Use of Technology in Small Rural Hospitals: Implications for Medication Safety
Assesses the capacity of rural hospitals to implement medication safety practices. Focuses on pharmacist staffing and the availability of technology.
Additional links: Policy Brief (January 2006)
Author(s): Michelle M. Casey, Ira Moscovice, Gestur Davidson
Date: 12/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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Trends in Skilled Nursing and Swing-bed Use in Rural Areas, 1996-2003
Examines trends in the delivery of skilled nursing facility (SNF) services in rural areas during a period of dramatic change in Medicare payments. Focuses on the role of rural hospitals in providing SNF services, as a number of regulatory changes occurred between 1998 and 2002 that could potentially influence hospital provision of skilled nursing care.
Author(s): Kathleen Dalton, Jeongyoung Park, Ann Howard, Rebecca Slifkin
Date: 12/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Assessing the Financial Effect of Medicare Payment on Rural Hospitals: Does the Source of Data Change the Results?
Describes how predictions of changes in hospital financial performance as a result of change in Medicare payment differ when comparing results using data from the Medicare Cost Report (MCR) to results using data from the audited hospital financial statement.
Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Susan Puumala, Keith J. Mueller, et al.
Date: 11/2005
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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