Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Outpatient care

Does Rurality Affect Observation Care Services Use in CAHs for Medicare Beneficiaries?
Describes the use of observation services across levels of rurality by Medicare beneficiaries in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), the demographics and health status of patients receiving these services, and the characteristics of their observation stays.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Heidi O'Connor, Walter Gregg
Date: 10/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Observation Care Services for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Hospitals: Policy Issues and Stakeholder Perspectives
Seeks to provide a greater understanding of rural-specific issues surrounding hospital outpatient observation status and the related implications for rural hospitals, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and Medicare beneficiaries. Results are based on a multi-state, qualitative analysis of input from three respondent groups: state hospital associations, long-term care ombudsman offices, and Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs). Analysis focuses on the use of observation status by Medicare beneficiaries from 2010-2013.
Author(s): Walter Gregg, Samantha Mills, Yvonne Jonk
Date: 10/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
Trends in Observation Care Among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries at Critical Access Hospitals, 2007 – 2009
Highlights a study on the prevalence and duration of observational care in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) compared to Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals using Medicare claims data from 2007-2009, as well as 2007 American Hospital Association data to identify hospitals as CAHs or PPS hospitals and whether they were in rural or urban areas.
Author(s): Brad Wright, Hye-Young Jung, Zhanlian Feng, Vincent Mor
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 29(s1), s1-s6
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
view details
Effect of Outpatient Visits and Discharge Destination on Potentially Preventable Readmissions for Congestive Heart Failure and Bacterial Pneumonia
Explores the relationship between potentially preventable hospital readmissions, discharge destination, time to follow-up care, use of outpatient follow-up care and rural versus urban residence of the patient.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Marilyn G. Klug, Kyle Muus
Date: 03/2012
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
The Management of Chronic Diseases in Rural Missouri Practices
Reports the results of interviews with focus groups from rural healthcare practices in Missouri describing the challenges of managing chronic disease in small rural healthcare settings. Discusses the characteristics of rural practices and the communities they serve.
Author(s): Maithe Enriquez, Jill Moormeier, William Lafferty
Citation: Missouri Medicine, 109(3), 210-215
Date: 2012
Type: Document
view details
Medicare Copayments for Critical Access Hospital Outpatient Services - 2009 Update
Discusses the impact of Part B coinsurance on beneficiaries receiving outpatient services at Critical Access Hospitals.
Author(s): Sara Freeman, Kathleen Dalton
Date: 12/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Rural vs. Urban Ambulatory Health Care Review
Examines evidence regarding potential disparities between rural and urban areas in healthcare provision and delivery, and how differences in health care may contribute to disparities in health outcomes of veterans that seek care in VA and non-VA health systems.
Author(s): Michele Spoont, Nancy Greer, Jenny Su
Date: 05/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
view details
How Adults' Access to Outpatient Physician Services Relates to the Local Supply of Primary Care Physicians in the Rural Southeast
Examined how access to outpatient medical care varies with local primary care physician densities across primary care service areas in the rural Southeast, for adults, the elderly, and the poor.
Author(s): Donald E. Pathman, Thomas C. Ricketts III, Thomas R. Konrad
Citation: Health Services Research, 41(1), 79-102
Date: 02/2006
Type: Document
view details
Medicare: Information Needed to Assess Adequacy of Rate-Setting Methodology for Payments for Hospital Outpatient Services
Examines whether the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) rate-setting methodology results in payment rates that uniformly reflect hospitals' costs for providing drugs and devices. Includes information specific to rural hospitals and the OPPS.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2004
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Medicare Learning Network: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System
Provides general information about the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (PPS). Includes information about payment rates, Ambulatory Payment Classification groups, price transparency, and more.
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details