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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Specialty care

Crises Collide: The COVID-19 Pandemic and the Stability of the Rural Health Safety Net
Examines the vulnerability of rural hospitals based on financial and operational metrics, and the impact of COVID-19 on these hospitals. Discusses declining access to obstetrics and chemotherapy services at rural hospitals. Includes a chart highlighting financial indicators and information on the availability of intensive care beds at rural hospitals by state.
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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2020 Snapshot: State of the Oncology Workforce in America
Infographic providing statistics and data on oncology workforce characteristics and geography in 2020. Highlights rural-urban differences in oncology access, and includes a color-coded map showing oncologist distribution on the county level.
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice, 17(1), 30
Date: 01/2021
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January 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2021 meeting. Features a discussion on the expansion of telehealth in Medicare. Also covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and the mandated report expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice, physician and other health professional services, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, hospice services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, long-term care hospital services, and CMMI's development and implementation of alternative payment models.
Date: 01/2021
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Physician Density by Specialty Type in Urban and Rural Counties in the US, 2010 to 2017
Examines trends in physician density in rural and urban counties among primary care physicians, medical specialists, surgical specialists, or other specialists. Features statistics with breakdowns by large metropolitan, medium or small metropolitan, or rural counties.
Author(s): Sara R. Machado, Sahan Jayawardana, Elias Mossialos, Muthiah Vaduganathan
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(1)
Date: 01/2021
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The State of the Nurse Practitioner Profession, 2020: Results from the National Nurse Practitioner Sample Survey
Analyzes data from the 2020 National Sample Survey of Nurse Practitioners to describe the nurse practitioner (NP) workforce in the U.S. Covers education, certification, practice patterns, and compensation, including statistics on NPs who practice in Rural Health Clinics.
Date: 2021
Sponsoring organization: American Association of Nurse Practitioners
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Developing a Survivorship Care Plan (SCP) Delivery Process for Patients and Primary Care Providers Serving Poor, Rural, and Minority Patients with Cancer
Describes the results of a study to develop, implement, and evaluate an electronic medical record (EMR) process to create and deliver survivorship care plans (SCPs) to patients and their primary care providers. Focuses on a diverse patient population served by the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center with low socioeconomic status, living in rural areas, and who are racial and ethnic minorities.
Author(s): Bernard Tawfik, Shoshana Adler Jaffe, Lisa Mohler, et al.
Citation: Supportive Care in Cancer, 29(9), 5021-5028
Date: 2021
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Project ECHO - Indiana University (IU) Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
Offers CMEs and continuing education via live teleclinics for physicians and non-physicians, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, and certified health education specialists. Programs include didactic and case-based learning on hepatitis C, HIV, cancer, and more.
Date: 2021
Sponsoring organizations: Indiana University - Purdue University Indiana (IUPUI), Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
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December 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) December 2020 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and the mandated report on expanding the post-acute care transfer policy to hospice, ambulatory surgical center services, outpatient dialysis services, physician and other health professional services, hospice services, and a status report and benchmark policy option on the Medicare Advantage program. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 12/2020
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Benefits and Barriers to Pediatric Tele-Urology During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Study of remote video visits by a pediatric urology provider serving rural Virginia that examines the rapid integration of video visits into a practice that previously treated patients exclusively in-person. Discusses patient demographics, diagnosis and clinical outcomes, and success rates of video visits for 116 patients.
Author(s): Andrew J. Winkelman, Haerin L. Beller, Kathryn E. Morgan, et al.
Citation: Journal of Pediatric Urology, 16(6), P840.E1-840.E6
Date: 12/2020
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Rural Disparities in Surgical Care from Gynecologic Oncologists Among Midwestern Ovarian Cancer Patients
Compares the surgeries of 1,003 rural and urban women between 18 and 89 with ovarian cancer between 2010 and 2012 in Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa with particular focus on access to gynecologic oncologist specialists. Discusses referral practices, distances to specialists, and outcomes of surgeries with specialists compared to non-specialists.
Author(s): Kristin Weeks, Charles F. Lynch, Michele West, et al.
Citation: Gynecologic Oncology, 160(2), 477-484
Date: 11/2020
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