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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

Assessing Disparities in Pneumococcal Vaccine Service Delivery in the Rural Fee-for-Service Medicare Population
Slides from a March 2019 National Vaccine Program Office (NVAC) meeting discussing pneumococcal vaccine service disparities in rural Medicare fee-for-service populations based on data from 2012 to 2015. Includes data describing rural and urban vaccination services by provider type. Examines community pharmacies as a potential vaccine service provider.
Author(s): Jeffery Talbert, Patricia R. Freeman
Date: 03/2019
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
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Relationship Between Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication Regimen and Out-of-Pocket Costs Among People Aged 35 to 64 With Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Assesses the proportion of people taking antihypertensive medicine, the rates of adherence to these regimens, and the costs. Features demographic statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural location.
Author(s): Madeleine M. Baker-Goering, Kakoli Roy, David H. Howard
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
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STOP Playbook: How Health Plans Are Tackling the Opioid Crisis
Offers strategies used by health plans to address opioid misuse through the Safe, Transparent Opioid Prescribing (STOP) Initiative, which focuses on improving prescribing patterns and practices. Includes strategies and examples for increasing substance abuse treatment access in rural areas. Summarizes the health insurance impacts of the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities legislation.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AHIP
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2019
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses opioids, Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medicare's quality incentive program for hospitals, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Report: Challenges Facing Rural Communities and the Roadmap to Ensure Local Access to High-Quality, Affordable Care
Reports on continuing, current, and emerging challenges for rural hospitals working to provide access to healthcare services in rural communities. Includes discussion on policy recommendations to improve access and covers new models of care, reimbursement policies, regulatory requirements, telehealth, workforce issues, and prescription drug costs.
Additional links: Executive Summary, Infographic
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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340B Hospitals on the Front Lines of Addressing the U.S. Opioid Epidemic: Case Examples from the Field
Highlights how six hospitals participating in the 340B drug pricing program are helping address the opioid epidemic. Includes case studies from rural Critical Access Hospitals in Minnesota.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: 340B Health
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Opioid Prescribing Rates in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties Among Primary Care Providers Using an Electronic Health Record System — United States, 2014–2017
Examines opioid prescribing rates among primary care providers for six urban-rural classification categories of counties, before and after the March 2016 release of CDC's Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.
Author(s): Macarena C. García, Charles M. Heilig, Scott H. Lee, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(2), 25-30
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Telepharmacy Service Brings HIV Preventive to Rural Iowans
Discusses a telepharmacy service in Iowa that works to provide rural residents at risk for HIV infection with the daily preventive medication, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Covers barriers overcome by the program and next steps to address ongoing challenges program participants face.
Author(s): Kate Traynor
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists
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Evaluating a Training Program for Rural Doctors and Nursing Home Staff on Safe Medicine Use for Patients with Dementia and Nursing Home Residents
Investigates whether a training program for healthcare providers in 29 rural counties in Iowa affected medication use by patients age 66 or older. Includes data and statistics on outpatients with dementia and nursing home residents, with information on age, sex, chronic disease, medication use, and more.
Author(s): Ryan Carnahan, Grant Brown, Marianne Smith, et al.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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The Special Registration for Telemedicine: In Brief
Describes changes to the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) authorizing special registration for telemedicine to increase access to healthcare providers that can prescribe controlled substances using telemedicine, with the goal of helping address the opioid crisis and shortage of mental health providers. Outlines the seven categories for the practice of telemedicine under the authority of the CSA. The Drug Enforcement Administration plans to publish the related proposed rule to finalize the registration process and procedures.
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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