Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

The Rural Monitor
Articles by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Rural Pharmacies Provide Multi-Faceted Value to Rural Communities

July 12, 2023
Rural community pharmacies are often vital sources for prescriptions, vaccinations, patient education, and other healthcare needs, but the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis reported a decrease in the number of rural pharmacies from 2003 to 2021. A pharmacy chain in the Midwest, a pharmacy-based research network in the South, and an Illinois school of pharmacy discuss the rewards and challenges of operating in rural areas.

Changing the Narrative — Rural Healthcare Opportunities and the Role of Emerging Leaders

June 7, 2023
While rural healthcare faces many challenges, it also possesses strengths and potential, such as its leadership. The NRHA's Rural Health CEO Certification Program and Rural Health Fellows works to strengthen current leaders' skills, while the University of Iowa's and the University of South Carolina's Master of Health Administration programs, NRHA's Student Constituency Group, and the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network help shape future leaders.

Rural Health Clinic Program at 45 Years: Created for Access and Still Delivering Care

October 26, 2022
After a 1965 public law created the Medicare and Medicaid programs, many rural residents insured by these government health programs were unable to access care. This challenge was remedied by another public law: the Rural Health Clinic Services Act of 1977. Using a historical framework, rural health policy experts, researchers, and clinicians reviewed the Act's impact on outpatient healthcare delivery in rural America.

A Career of Influencing Rural Healthcare Delivery: Bill Finerfrock and the NARHC Origin Story

October 26, 2022
Over 5,200 rural organizations participate in the Rural Health Clinics program, a reimbursement model dedicated to rural low-volume healthcare delivery and now in its 45th year. The National Association of Rural Health Clinics — in its 30th year — is a membership organization that emerged as the program increased its participants. Bill Finerfrock, association cofounder and its recently retired executive director, shared the group's origin story as well as touchpoints from his own career.

Philanthropy, Cross-Collaboration, and the Ecosystem That Is Rural Healthcare Delivery: Q&A with Dr. Shao-Chee Sim

September 21, 2022
As vice president for research, innovation, and evaluation at Texas-based Episcopal Health Foundation, Shao-Chee Sim, PhD, discusses how philanthropic organizations can make small rural research investments — and, in particular, leverage cross-funder collaboration — that impact not only funders themselves, but also healthcare delivery systems and the rural Americans they serve.

Let's Get a Good Deal on Health Care

May 18, 2022
Dr. Clint MacKinney explains the challenges rural hospitals face with current payment systems and the potential that value-based payment holds for meeting rural communities' needs.

The Codes of Care: How Words and Numbers Have Transformative Power for Rural Healthcare

April 13, 2022
The greatest opportunity to tell the rural healthcare delivery story is an opportunity often missed — and that opportunity involves translating clinical documentation into medical codes. In addition to describing how the story and quality of clinical care gets translated from words into alphanumeric numbers, medical coding experts also pointed to aligned efforts to familiarize those in graduate medical education settings with the impact of their clinical documentation.

Understanding the “Tool-ish-ness” of Telehealth: Q&A with Dr. Jonathan Neufeld

December 8, 2021
Clinical psychologist and program director for the Great Plains Telehealth Resource & Assistance Center, Dr. Jonathan Neufeld, clarifies telehealth as an "enabler" of healthcare delivery. Emphasizing that telehealth is only a set of telecommunication tools, he details how the unique use and flexibility of these tools by skilled providers can bring quality care and impact rural health equity.