The Future of Telehealth After COVID-19: New Opportunities and Challenges
Provides an overview of the current evidence regarding telehealth's impact on equitable access to care and on quality of care, patient outcomes, and cost. Describes the COVID-19 pandemic-related regulatory flexibilities for mental health and substance use disorder services. Discusses the importance of telehealth on primary and specialty care during the public health emergency (PHE). Offers recommendations for Medicare telehealth policies to promote better outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries and value for the Medicare program.
Additional links: Medicare Telehealth Utilization and Spending Impacts 2019-2021, Webinar Recording
Author(s): Julia Harris, Sabah Bhatnagar, Brady Newell, et al.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Delivery of Cancer Screening and Treatment in Critical Access Hospitals
Summarizes results of a survey of 135 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) regarding cancer screening and treatment provided by CAHs. Describes the role of visiting providers and the use of telemedicine in cancer screening and treatment.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Xiomara Santana, Helen Parsons, Nathan Bean, Ira Moscovice
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Mechanical Ventilation for COVID-19
Free online course designed to help licensed non-ICU hospital providers in supporting critical care respiratory therapists, physicians, and nurses in treating patients receiving mechanical ventilation. Topics include principles of mechanical ventilation, ventilator setting and adjustments, troubleshooting tips, and ventilating patients with conditions such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Obstructive Lung Disease.
Author(s): Susan Wilcox, Thomas Piraino
Date: 10/2022
Type: Tutorial/Training
Sponsoring organization: Harvard University edX
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Arizona Health Workforce Profile: Physician Specialty
Examines the physician workforce in Arizona, with data on specialty, those who completed their undergraduate medical education (UME) in Arizona, and the distribution of specialties across Arizona, further broken down by rural versus urban.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Arizona Center for Rural Health
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Audiology, Medicine, and Pharmacy Interprofessional Preliminary Interviews and Discussions: Improving Hearing Health Care in Rural Alabama
Results of a study to determine the feasibility of interprofessional collaboration among physicians and audiologists and pharmacists and audiologists, to improve access and affordability of hearing health care in rural communities. Based on information from online surveys and virtual discussion groups with 16 family physicians and medicine residents at the University of Alabama and 15 pharmacists who worked in independently owned community pharmacies in Alabama.
Author(s): Emma B. Brothers, Marcia J. Hay-McCutcheon, Peter J. Hughes, M. Louanne Friend
Citation: American Journal of Audiology, 31(3), 656-668
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Measure Applications Partnership 2022 Considerations for Measure Set Review in Federal Programs: Clinician, Hospital, and Post-Acute Care/Long-Term Care
Reviews the 32 healthcare quality and efficiency measures used by the National Quality Forum's Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) during 2022. Discusses measures for clinician programs, hospital programs, and post-acute care/long-term care programs. Includes the MAP Rural Health Advisory Group's support or determination of the suitability of each measure for rural providers.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
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Availability of Hospital-Based Cancer Services Before and After Rural Hospital Closure, 2008–2017
Explores the effect rural hospital closures have had on rural cancer care. Draws from American Hospital Association data from 2008 to 2017 and explores the differing outcomes hospital closures had on oncology care, radiation services, and cancer screening in rural areas.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Peiyin Hung, Sylvia Kewei Shi, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Perceived Benefits of Geriatric Specialty Telemedicine among Rural Patients and Caregivers
Explores the perceived benefits of a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) geriatric specialty telemedicine service (GRECC Connect), which connects geriatric interdisciplinary teams in urban areas with older veterans in rural areas through videoconferencing platforms. Summarizes results of interviews 30 rural older adults enrolled in the VHA and their caregivers about the content and quality of their GRECC Connect visits.
Author(s): Eileen M. Dryden, Meaghan A. Kennedy, Jennifer Conti, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 2022
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
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Adoption of Telemedicine in a Rural US Cancer Center Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative Study
Describes the implementation of telemedicine in outpatient oncology clinics affiliated with the Dartmouth Cancer Center that serve rural patients. Discusses findings from interviews with staff, specialty providers, and practice managers, noting challenges to implementation, the need for guidance, and concerns about communication quality.
Author(s): Matthew Mackwood, Rebecca Butcher, Danielle Vaclavik, et al.
Citation: JMIR Cancer, 8(3), e33768
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the ESRD PPS Update for CY 2023
Comments on a June 28, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule related to Medicare payment policies for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Includes comments addressing the low-volume payment adjustment (LVPA) and the rural adjustment.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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