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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Type: Document

What Makes Physician Assistant (PA) Training Programs Successful at Training Rural PAs?
Results of a study analyzing characteristics of PA programs producing high proportions of graduates who choose rural practice, using data collected from 173 programs from November 2015 through January 2016. Features statistics with breakdowns by rurally oriented and non-rurally oriented programs and those with high and low rural productivity.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Kissing Bug and Chagas Disease: What You Need to Know
Highlights identification information for the Chagas-disease-carrying kissing bugs in the Southern U.S. Presents county-level data for Texas.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Texas Chagas Taskforce
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Engaging Native American Caregivers in Youth-Focused Diabetes Prevention and Management
Results of a study to assess feasibility and acceptability of enrolling adult caregivers in the Together on Diabetes program, using data collected in 4 Native American reservations in the southwestern United States, from 2012-2015. Features statistics on 256 youth and 226 caregivers, including age, sex, and diabetes status.
Author(s): Rachel Chambers, Summer Rosenstock, Melissa Walls, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 15
Date: 06/2018
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Veterans Health Administration: Steps Taken to Improve Physician Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention, but Challenges Remain
Highlights a report on the effectiveness of improvements made by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in the areas of staffing, recruitment, and retention. Discusses the successes and shortcomings of the VHA's interventions.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Evaluation of the Round Two Health Care Innovation Awards (HCIA R2): Third Annual Report
Summarizes the third year evaluation results of 38 Health Care Innovation Awards Round Two projects, one awardee of the original 39 having left the program in September 2016. Focuses on implementation effectiveness, developing payment models, planning for sustainability, and some preliminary work related to evaluating program impacts. Provides findings for the individual awardees, which include projects that serve rural areas.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mathematica Policy Research
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Opportunities and Challenges to Utilizing Telehealth Technologies in the Provision of Medication Assisted Therapies in the Medi-Cal Program
Describes advantages and barriers to using telehealth for delivery of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to California's Medicaid enrollees, especially those in rural and underserved areas. Includes recommendations for changes to California state laws in order to alleviate the challenges. Appendix C lists states allowing telehealth prescribing.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Center for Connected Health Policy: The National Telehealth Policy Resource Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2018
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and offers recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Includes a chapter on ensuring appropriate access to and use of hospital emergency department (ED) services that provides extensive information on rural access to ED services and identifies examples of rural off-campus emergency departments. Other sections of the report addressing rural concerns focus on post-acute care, quality and value payment programs, and medical device payment policies. Also includes a report on the effects of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
Additional links: Fact Sheet
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2018
Provides an in-depth examination of and makes recommendations on two critical issues, the high cost of prescription drugs and the opioid epidemic, as they relate to Medicaid. The opioid section includes discussion of rural access to treatment for substance use disorder. Also discusses Medicaid's role as the nation's largest payer for long-term services and supports.
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Obesity Prevalence Among Adults Living in Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Counties — United States, 2016
Reports on obesity prevalence among adults in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties based on 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Includes metro/nonmetro data by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, and employment status. Also provides state-by-state data on obesity prevalence in metro and nonmetro counties.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Lundeen, Sohyun Park, Liping Pan, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 67(23), 653-658
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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High Risk: Agencies Need to Continue Efforts to Address Management Weaknesses of Federal Programs Serving Indian Tribes
Reports on the management of federal programs that serve American Indian populations across the U.S. Highlights the operations of the Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs (Indian Affairs), the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the Indian Health Service (IHS), and details the challenges facing each office, and the progress they have made in overcoming those challenges.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2018
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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