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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Increasing the Value of Medicare
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program and makes recommendations to the Congress. Topics covered include care coordination, pricing accuracy in the hospice and physician payment systems, quality measures in home health, gathering data on outpatient therapy, Medicare Advantage, the Part D prescription drug program, and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Date: 06/2006
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Hospital Pharmaceuticals: Survey Shows Price Variations and Highlights Data Collection Lessons and Outpatient Rate-Setting Challenges for CMS
Analyzes Medicare specified covered outpatient drugs (SCOD) price variation across hospitals. Includes information on prices paid by rural hospitals compared to urban hospitals.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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The 2006 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Service Issues
Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on issues related to rural America. Examines three key topics: access to pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services, health information technology, and family caregiver support of the rural elderly.
Date: 01/2006
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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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
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Issues in a Modernized Medicare Program, 2005
Examines issues affecting the Medicare program. Addresses Part D, Medicare's new outpatient prescription drug benefit, with some coverage of rural issues. Includes overview of the Medicare Advantage program. Discusses the effects of the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) provisions in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA).
Date: 06/2005
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Scope of Services Offered by Critical Access Hospitals: Results of the 2004 National CAH Survey
Examines how Critical Access Hospital (CAH) services have changed over time, based on 2000, 2002, and 2004 survey data. Discusses the role of network affiliations in service changes and reasons for reported service expansions.
Author(s): David Hartley, Stephenie Loux
Date: 03/2005
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act on Rural Health Systems and Beneficiaries
Offers an analysis of rural-pertinent provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003. Summarizes legislative and regulatory provisions of special significance to rural beneficiaries and health care systems.
Author(s): Keith Mueller, Andrew Coburn, Charles Fluharty, et al.
Date: 02/2005
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Critical Access Hospital Patient Safety Priorities and Initiatives: Results of the 2004 National CAH Survey
Describes patient safety activities at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) based on a 2004 survey of 474 CAH administrators. Includes information on patient safety priorities, challenges CAHs face in implementing patient safety interventions, and pharmacy staffing and computer systems to prevent medication errors.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice, Jill Klingner
Date: 09/2004
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Prescription Drug Spending and Coverage Among Rural Medicare Beneficiaries in 2003
Examines out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs by noninstitutionalized rural Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older. Includes information on supplemental insurance coverage among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries.
Author(s): Craig Caplan, Normandy Brangan
Date: 2004
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
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Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003
Text of the legislation that adds a prescription drug benefit to Medicare and enhances some rural healthcare programs, such as the Critical Access Hospitals program.
Date: 11/2003
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