Rural Healthcare Quality – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Healthcare Quality.
Leveraging Quality Measurement to Improve Rural Health: Final Environmental Scan - Rural Core Measure Set
Presents the results of an environmental scan of changes in healthcare quality measures between 2017 and 2022. Provides an overview of updates to the existing core measure set and identifies potential measures for addition based on rural-relevant topics and emerging issues. Highlights emerging areas of rural-relevant quality measurement.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
view details
Presents the results of an environmental scan of changes in healthcare quality measures between 2017 and 2022. Provides an overview of updates to the existing core measure set and identifies potential measures for addition based on rural-relevant topics and emerging issues. Highlights emerging areas of rural-relevant quality measurement.
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Quality Forum
view details
Rural Health Quality: How CMS Initiatives Improve How We Measure and Address Gaps in Care
Recording of an April 2022 webinar regarding healthcare quality measurement in rural areas. Discusses measurement challenges in rural areas and how CMS is working to mitigate these issues. Presents resources and programs for rural providers to improve healthcare quality. Transcript is available by clicking the three dots above the video description, then selecting Show Transcript.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
view details
Recording of an April 2022 webinar regarding healthcare quality measurement in rural areas. Discusses measurement challenges in rural areas and how CMS is working to mitigate these issues. Presents resources and programs for rural providers to improve healthcare quality. Transcript is available by clicking the three dots above the video description, then selecting Show Transcript.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
view details
The Codes of Care: How Words and Numbers Have Transformative Power for Rural Healthcare
Describes the process of translating clinical documentation into medical codes and the impact coding has on healthcare quality and population health. Highlights coding issues specific to rural settings. Also discusses graduate medical education efforts addressing clinical documentation and medical coding.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Describes the process of translating clinical documentation into medical codes and the impact coding has on healthcare quality and population health. Highlights coding issues specific to rural settings. Also discusses graduate medical education efforts addressing clinical documentation and medical coding.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
view details
Digital Quality Measurement Strategic Roadmap
Discusses how the interoperability of healthcare data from electronic health records can improve Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measurement systems. Outlines actions in four domains - improving data quality, advancing technology, optimizing data aggregation, and enabling alignment of measures - to advance digital quality measurement.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
view details
Discusses how the interoperability of healthcare data from electronic health records can improve Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measurement systems. Outlines actions in four domains - improving data quality, advancing technology, optimizing data aggregation, and enabling alignment of measures - to advance digital quality measurement.
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
view details
Quality of Skilled Nursing Facilities Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Policy paper describing a study examining the quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that serve rural beneficiaries, based on ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rating system. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs, overall star ratings, and staff star ratings in 2018 by rural-serving status.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Policy paper describing a study examining the quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) that serve rural beneficiaries, based on ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rating system. Features statistics including characteristics of SNFs, overall star ratings, and staff star ratings in 2018 by rural-serving status.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Quality of Home Health Agencies Serving Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Describes a study examining the quality of home health agencies (HHAs) that serve rural beneficiaries, based on ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rating system. Features statistics including characteristics of HHAs, patient care ratings, and patient experience ratings in 2018 by rural-serving status.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Describes a study examining the quality of home health agencies (HHAs) that serve rural beneficiaries, based on ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services star rating system. Features statistics including characteristics of HHAs, patient care ratings, and patient experience ratings in 2018 by rural-serving status.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
High-Performing Rural Health System
Update to the September 2011 RUPRI Health Panel document "The High Performance Rural Health Care System of the Future." Describes affordable and accessible healthcare for all rural residents through a sustainable system delivering high quality, high value services. Defines pillars of accessibility, affordability, community health, and quality.
Author(s): Andrew Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Update to the September 2011 RUPRI Health Panel document "The High Performance Rural Health Care System of the Future." Describes affordable and accessible healthcare for all rural residents through a sustainable system delivering high quality, high value services. Defines pillars of accessibility, affordability, community health, and quality.
Author(s): Andrew Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Medicare: Information on the Transition to Alternative Payment Models by Providers in Rural, Health Professional Shortage, or Underserved Areas
Describes the participation of providers in rural and health professional shortage areas in Advanced APMs from 2017 through 2019. Discusses challenges providers in rural, shortage, and underserved areas face in transitioning to APMs, as well as actions CMS takes to help these providers transition to APMs. Includes data by practice and provider type.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Describes the participation of providers in rural and health professional shortage areas in Advanced APMs from 2017 through 2019. Discusses challenges providers in rural, shortage, and underserved areas face in transitioning to APMs, as well as actions CMS takes to help these providers transition to APMs. Includes data by practice and provider type.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Medicare: Provider Performance and Experiences Under the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System
Examines Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data on Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance category scores, final scores, and payment adjustments from performance years 2017 through 2019. Summarizes interviews with 11 stakeholder groups and identifies strengths and challenges of the MIPS program. Presents data on MIPS performance scores and related payment adjustments by practice size, geographic location, method of participation, and specialty.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Examines Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data on Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance category scores, final scores, and payment adjustments from performance years 2017 through 2019. Summarizes interviews with 11 stakeholder groups and identifies strengths and challenges of the MIPS program. Presents data on MIPS performance scores and related payment adjustments by practice size, geographic location, method of participation, and specialty.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2021
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
Place Matters: Closing the Gap on Rural Primary Care Quality Improvement Capacity - The Healthy Hearts Northwest Study
Compares the primary care practices in rural and urban settings in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Looks at quality improvement capacity, performance metrics, and workforce issues, among other measures.
Author(s): Lyle J. Fagnan, Katrina Ramsey, Caitlin Dickinson, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 34 (4), 753-761
Date: 07/2021
view details
Compares the primary care practices in rural and urban settings in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Looks at quality improvement capacity, performance metrics, and workforce issues, among other measures.
Author(s): Lyle J. Fagnan, Katrina Ramsey, Caitlin Dickinson, et al.
Citation: The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 34 (4), 753-761
Date: 07/2021
view details
Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for: