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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

Disparities in the Real-World Prescription Pattern of Oral Anticoagulants for US Medicare Beneficiaries: A Geospatial Analysis
Analyzes geographic variations in oral anticoagulant prescribing, utilizing 2020 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment data. Compares rural and urban clinicians' likelihood of prescribing warfarin only, direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) only, or both warfarin and DOACs, and highlights regional prescribing patterns using color-coded, county-level maps.
Author(s): Jingrui Zou, Dong Liang, Yong Zhu
Citation: BMJ Open, 14, e081628
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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"Saving People's Lives": Access to Mental Health and Addiction Services in Rural Communities
Podcast episode discussing challenges of accessing mental health and addiction services in rural areas. Highlights strategies implemented by New Mexico's Presbyterian Española Hospital to address these challenges and increase access to treatment.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Ensuring Access To Care: 340B Arrangements with Community and Specialty Pharmacies Improve Access to Care for Underserved Patients
Provides an overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, related legislation, benefits to underserved communities, relationship to specialty and community pharmacies, and more. Includes discussion on the value of the 340B program for rural pharmacies.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Prescription Medication Use, Coverage, and Nonadherence Among Adults Age 65 and Older: United States, 2021–2022
Reports on medication use, prescription drug insurance coverage, and nonadherence due to cost for older adults between 2021 and 2022. Includes data breakdown of various demographic and health status characteristics including 4 levels of urbanization.
Author(s): Robin A. Cohen, Laryssa Mykyta
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Implementation of a Rural Emergency Department-initiated Buprenorphine Program in the Mountain West: A Study Protocol
Protocol for a study of emergency department (ED) initiation of buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) in the rural Mountain West. Discusses study design, implementation strategies, and barriers to OUD treatment access and provision in rural areas.
Author(s): Natasha Seliski, Troy Madsen, Savannah Eley, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 19, 63
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
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Pharmacy Accessibility and Social Vulnerability
Provides information on pharmacy deserts in socially vulnerable communities. Includes county characteristics of pharmacy deserts as well as U.S. maps showing the relationship of social vulnerability and primary care with pharmacy deserts.
Author(s): Giovanni Catalano, Muhammad Muntazir Mehdi Khan, Odysseas P. Chatzipanagiotou, Timothy M. Pawlik
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(8)
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
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Empowering Education and Support for Breastfeeding People Living in Rural Communities
Presents a scenario which demonstrates common challenges and barriers to support for breastfeeding people in rural communities. Discusses no-cost services which support mental health and provide evidence-based information on vaccination and medication for breastfeeding people.
Author(s): Angela Messer
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: MotherToBaby
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Changes in Rural Pharmacy Presence 2023
Data brief exploring availability of retail pharmacy services in rural areas of the U.S. Provides information on rural communities that have kept, lost, or gained a retail pharmacy between 2018 and 2023. Features statistics on numbers of pharmacies in rural areas in 2018 and 2023, with breakdowns by communities with one pharmacy, two pharmacies, or three or more pharmacies.
Author(s): Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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FY 2025 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital Prospective Payment System (LTCH PPS) Final Rule – CMS-1808-F
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) fiscal year 2025 hospital inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS) and long-term care hospital prospective payment system (LTCH PPS) final rule. Includes information about the extension of the low-wage index hospital policy, a separate IPPS payment for small and independent hospitals to establish and maintain a buffer stock of essential medicines, the distribution of graduate medical education (GME) residency slots, updates to quality reporting programs, and more.
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2024
Provides an overview of Medicare spending and highlights data on Medicare beneficiary demographics, dual-eligible beneficiaries, quality of care provided through the Medicare program, and other payer liability. Examines settings of care, including rural-specific provider sites, as they relate to spending, access to care, and profit margins. Compares rural and urban beneficiaries and providers throughout. Chart 6-2 addresses rural hospital closures.
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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