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The Rural Monitor
Articles by Topic: Reimbursement and payment models

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.

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.

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.

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.

Understanding the Rural Swing Bed: More than Just a Reimbursement Policy

August 11, 2021
"Swing bed" is that oft-heard phrase describing not a physical hospital bed, but post-acute care for the rural patient who is well enough to leave the acute care hospital but not well enough to be safe at home. In this 2-part story, experts and hospital administrators review the swing bed program's historical implementation and provide stories and examples of the value this over 40-year-old healthcare delivery and reimbursement model brings to patients, to the hospitals providing their care, and ultimately to rural communities.

History of the Swing Bed: A Look Through the Rural Rearview Mirror

August 11, 2021
The healthcare delivery model known as the swing bed program has allowed rural and Critical Access Hospitals to serve patients by keeping them in their rural communities for post-acute care. Reviewing the history of this program, experts describe early implementation and key program elements that have sustained its success for over 40 years.

Advance Care Planning: New Realities in Times of COVID-19

July 15, 2020
Advance care planning — planning for decision-making in times of medical crisis — has always been intended for all people, all ages, with or without a chronic disease. Clinicians talk about the challenges of these conversations now that COVID-19 has nudged planning from the realm of the theoretical future to current reality.