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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Telehealth

VA Video Connect for Clinical Care in Older Adults in a Rural State During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Study
Highlights a study on the ability of older veterans to use the VA Video Connect (VVC) app for telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Breaks down data by race, age, and rural versus urban location, among other factors.
Author(s): Kalpana P Padala, Kerrie B Wilson, Heath Gauss, Jessica D Stovall, et al.
Citation: Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(9), e21561
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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Federal and State Policy Changes Since COVID-19
Video recording of a presentation on federal and state telehealth policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) policies related to geographic and site location for the patient, provider location and type, and telehealth delivery modality. Addresses common issues related to reimbursement and payment codes, Medicare billing guidance for Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics, and notes post-COVID policy questions and issues. Transcript available in the video description.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Connected Health Policy, Northwest Regional Telehealth Resource Center
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A Toolkit for Building and Growing a Sustainable Telehealth Program in Your Practice
Offers information for family practices to develop and implement telehealth strategies in light of the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts on regulatory and reimbursement policies. Topics include telehealth services, payment considerations, program sustainability, licensing and technology requirements, and workflow. Includes 10 telehealth scenarios with breakdowns of payer, technology, staff, coding, and other special considerations.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Academy of Family Physicians, Manatt Health
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Finding Innovation and Resilience During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Provider Telehealth Innovations & How-To Guide for Thinking Sustainably
Provided guidance on how providers could focus on sustainability of telehealth services during a period of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Provides examples of how providers, including those in rural settings, adapted their practices.
Additional links: A Sustainability How-To Guide for Providers of Telehealth, Telehealth and COVID-19: Provider Innovations and the Need to Think Sustainably, Telehealth and COVID-19: What Practitioners Need to Know
Date: 09/2020
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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Taskforce on Telehealth Policy (TTP) Findings and Recommendations
Report from the Taskforce on Telehealth Policy (TTP) examining the rapid expansion of telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic and possible permanent shifts in telehealth policy. Offers findings and policy recommendations related to patient safety, program integrity, data flow and care coordination, quality measurement, cost of care, and overarching issues.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Alliance for Connected Care, ATA, National Committee for Quality Assurance
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The Impact of Coronavirus on Households Across America
Examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. households. Covers health, economic, and work-related impacts and related issues such as broadband access. Includes a section on problems specific to rural households. A separate report is available that focuses specifically on rural impacts of COVID-19.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, National Public Radio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Telepharmacy and Quality of Medication Use in Rural Areas, 2013–2019
Uses dispensing records from traditional pharmacies and telepharmacies in the Midwest to compare patients' adherence to and inappropriate use of prescription medications between 2013 and 2019. Includes data and statistics on medication adherence and use, with information broken down by patient characteristics, such as age, rurality, payer, risk, and more.
Author(s): Shweta Pathak, Mitchell Haynes, Dima Qato, Benjamin Urick
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 17
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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COVID-19 Reveals Emerging Opportunities for Rural Public Health
Explores potential and existing public health innovations that rural communities can implement to address challenges brought on or exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, including lack of funding for local health departments, insufficient broadband, and more. Describes the expansion of telehealth services, discusses rural/urban disparities, and offers recommendations for improvement.
Author(s): Angela Dearinger
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1277-1278
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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Telehealth Availability in US Hospitals in the Face of the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Highlights a study on hospital readiness and capability to provide healthcare services via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the factors that affect telehealth capability and compares hospitals in rural and urban areas and by census region.
Author(s): Neeraj A. Puro, Scott Feyereisen
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 36(4), 577-583
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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Oral Health Value-Based Care - The Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Story
Explores the role Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play in providing oral healthcare through integration and how FQHCs used technology and flexible workforce modeling to provide care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes data from the IBM Watson MarketScan Multi-State Database, the Health Resources and Services Administration Uniform Data System, and a survey of participants of the safety net technical assistance program to evaluate health outcomes and service provision of FQHC patients versus non-FQHC patients. Discusses how value-based payment models can effect health outcomes and how FQHCs used telehealth to reach rural and underserved populations during the pandemic.
Date: 08/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, National Association of Community Health Centers
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