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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Inpatient care

Rural and Urban Differences in Factors Associated with Inpatient Hospital Stays for Substance Use Disorder
Provides information on inpatient hospital stays for patients with substance use disorder (SUD) by rural and urban location. Utilizes 2018 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data to examine 81,857 inpatient hospital stays, with rural versus urban data further broken down by age, sex, race/ethnicity, type of SUD diagnosis, secondary conditions and comorbidities, admission type and source, Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status, payer type, hospital characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Craig Holden, Curt Mueller, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
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Factors Associated with Lengths-of-Stay for Inpatients with Substance Use Disorders
Policy brief identifying factors associated with inpatient length-of-stay (LOS) for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs) and exploring whether there are systematic differences in LOS for rural and urban residents. Includes statistics on characteristics of stays for a primary SUD diagnosis in Kentucky, North Carolina, Vermont, and Washington in 2018, with breakdowns by Mental Health Professional Shortage Area and rural or urban location, and selected factors on LOS for an SUD diagnosis, with breakdowns by mental diagnoses, chronic conditions, and socio-demographic measures.
Author(s): Curt Mueller, Craig Holden, Shena Popat, Alana Knudson
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
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COVID-19 Hospitalization Trends in Rural Versus Urban Areas in the United States
Examines disparities in COVID-19 hospitalization rates between rural and urban areas in six states from May 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021. Describes differences in occupancy rates between rural and urban hospitals during the same period. Presents data by week and cumulatively over time.
Author(s): Yi Zhu, Caitlin Carroll, Khoa Vu, et al.
Citation: Medical Care Research and Review, 80(2), 236-244
Date: 04/2023
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2023
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 healthcare facilities and services; Medicare Advantage (MA), including a mandated report comparing per enrollee spending in the MA program with that of traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare; and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural–Urban Disparities in Adverse Maternal Outcomes in the United States, 2016–2019
Analyzes maternal mortality and admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU) in rural and urban areas in the U.S. between 2016 and 2019. Utilizes Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (WONDER) to examine rural versus urban maternal health disparities.
Author(s): Katharine A. Harrington, Natalie A. Cameron, Kasen Culler, William A. Grobman, Sadiya S. Khan
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 113(2)
Date: 01/2023
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Total Knee Arthroplasty in the Outpatient vs Inpatient Settings: Impact of Site of Care on Early Postoperative Economic and Clinical Outcomes
Compares inpatient and outpatient outcomes of total knee arthroplasty adult patients treated with the Attune Knee System implant between October 1, 2015 and December 2020. Table 1 shows comparison of rural patients to urban patients among other demographic characteristics. Discusses the difference in both clinical and financial outcomes when the procedure occurs at rural hospitals as compared to urban hospitals.
Author(s): Jack Mantel, Jill W. Ruppenkamp, Maricruz Cantu, Chantal E. Holy
Citation: Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, 2023(18), 273
Date: 2023
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Improving Rural Health Through Telehealth-Guided Provider-to-Provider Communication
Presents the results of a comprehensive literature review to identify, summarize, and evaluate available research on the contributions of rural provider-to-provider telehealth communication and collaboration in addressing health disparities, and improving the health of rural populations. Topics cover the specific applications, effectiveness, implementation, sustainability, and barriers and facilitators of provider-to-provider telehealth in rural areas.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Full Report, Telehealth's Potential To Benefit Rural Healthcare Delivery: Infographic 1, Telehealth's Potential To Benefit Rural Healthcare Delivery: Infographic 2
Author(s): Annette Totten, Dana M. Womack, Marian S. McDonagh, et al.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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December 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2022 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and supporting Medicare safety-net hospitals, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, physician and other health professional services, hospice services, skilled nursing facilities, home health services, and inpatient rehabilitation facility services. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Mental Health Disorders Among Delivery Inpatient Stays by Patient Race and Ethnicity, 2020
Reports on the number and rate of delivery stays with a mental health disorder diagnosis by patient race and ethnicity for Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, and Hispanic populations. Includes data by location of patient residence for large metropolitan, small metro, and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Michael A. Head, Lawrence D. Reid
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Changes in Hospitalizations and In-Hospital Deaths in the Initial Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic (April–December 2020), 38 States and DC
Presents data from 38 states on the number of all-cause hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths between April-December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Includes data by location of patient residence for large metro, medium and small metro, and rural areas.
Author(s): Marc Roemer, Jennifer Welch
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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