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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Specialty care

Examining Rural-Urban Differences in the Availability of Hospital-Based Cardiac Services Between 2010-2020
Results of a study examining the availability of hospital-based general cardiology, diagnostic catheterization, and interventional catheterization services, and whether rural-urban differences in the availability of these services occurred between 2010 and 2020. Features statistics including differences in the proportion of hospitals offering cardiac services across metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core counties in 2010 and 2020.
Author(s): Gabriel A. Benavidez, Shanikque Barksdale, Peiyin Hung, Elizabeth Crouch
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Missing Components of Receptor Status Among Women With Invasive Breast Cancer
Examines factors related to the testing of receptors that aid in accurate prognosis and treatment of patients with invasive breast cancer. Analyzes patient data of 321,913 women for missing components of receptor status (MCRS) according to patient and clinical characteristics, such as age at diagnosis, race, insurance status, rural versus urban residence, and more.
Author(s): Julie A. Stephens, James L. Fisher, Robert Wesolowski, Electra D. Paskett
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(8)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the End-Stage Renal Disease Payment System Update for FY 2024
Comments on a June 30, 2023, 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 recommending the development of a new payment adjustment based on geographic isolation.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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An Examination of Practices and Barriers of Procedures Performed by Physicians in Rural Hawai'i
Surveys 47 rural Hawaiian physicians to evaluate their scope of practice for procedures and learn the barriers to performing procedures. Discusses specialty care, reimbursement, training, time management, resource access, and more.
Author(s): Joseph W. Turban, Eun Ah Cho, Weston McCue, Kelley Withy
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 82(8), 183-187
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Availability of Dialysis Facilities in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of dialysis facilities nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on driving distances to the nearest dialysis facility by ZCTA rurality, minoritized ethnic and racial group category, and frontier and remote (FAR) designation.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Peiyin Hung, Gabriel Benavidez, Abbey Hunter, Jan M. Eberth
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Study Protocol for a Multi-Level Cross-Sectional Study on the Equitable Reach and Implementation of Coordinated Specialty Care for Early Psychosis
Examines ways to improve outreach and access to rural and underserved communities in relation to coordinated specialty care (CSC) for early psychosis. Discusses the creation of a geospatial database of CSC programs in the U.S. that includes program-level data, provider-level data, and neighborhood-level census data.
Author(s): Oladunni Oluwoye, Ari Lissau, Sheldon Stokes, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 4, 90
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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MedPAC Data Book: Health Care Spending and the Medicare Program, 2023
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: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Availability of Cancer Care Services and the Organization of Care Delivery at Critical Access Hospitals
Examines the availability and organization of cancer care services at Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Summarizes results of a survey of nursing and patient care leaders at 135 CAHs. Describes cancer treatment, diagnostic, and screening services provided at CAHs and the staff used to deliver patient care. Identifies four levels of CAH cancer care services.
Author(s): Ira Moscovice, Helen Parsons, Nathan Bean, et al.
Citation: Cancer Medicine, 2023
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Updated Medicare FFS Telehealth Trends by Beneficiary Characteristics, Visit Specialty and State, 2019-2021
Examines telehealth visits by Medicare beneficiaries from 2019 through 2021. Compares telehealth use by patient characteristics, including urban and rural residence and Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), visit specialty, health conditions, and state.
Author(s): Lok Wong Samson, Sara J. Couture, Tim B. Creedon, Laura Jacobus-Kantor, Steven Sheingold
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Care Access and Utilization among Medicare Beneficiaries Living with Parkinson's Disease
Analyzes healthcare utilization by 685,116 Medicare patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in 2019. Data is broken down by a variety of demographics and rurality. Discusses health disparities, mental health, and distribution of neurologists between rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Caroline Pearson, Alex Hartzman, Dianne Munevar, et al.
Citation: npj Parkinson's Disease, 9, 108
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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