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Rural Health Information Hub

Telehealth and Health Information Technology in Rural Healthcare – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Telehealth and Health Information Technology in Rural Healthcare.

Primary Care Providers' Experiences Treating Opioid Use Disorder Using Telehealth in the Height of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presents a study of the experiences of primary care providers who used telehealth for opioid use disorder treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Draws on the insights of participants from rural and urban counties in Kentucky and Arkansas and compares the experiences of rural and urban providers.
Author(s): Sarah Alexandra Marshall, Lachan E. Siebenmorgen, Nickolas Zaller, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 15
Date: 04/2024
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Coast Guard Health Care: Information on Telehealth Usage
Describes how the Coast Guard uses telehealth to provide medical care to its active duty personnel. Discusses the development of the Coast Guard's telehealth program, services offered, the extent to which video telehealth services are used, and benefits and challenges the Coast Guard experiences related to telehealth.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2024
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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What Happens to Rural Hospitals During a Ransomware Attack? Evidence from Medicare Data
Explores the effects of ransomware attacks on hospital operations. Analyzes data from the Tracking Healthcare Ransomware Events and Traits (THREAT) database, which includes information for every hospital identified as experiencing a ransomware attack between 2016 and 2021, and linked to Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims data. Compares the characteristics of rural and urban hospitals that experienced a ransomware attack. Describes the impact of ransomware attacks on rural and urban inpatient admissions, outpatient and emergency room visit volume, and travel distance and time to the next closest hospital not experiencing an attack.
Author(s): Hannah T. Neprash, Claire C. McGlave, Katie Rydberg, Carrie Henning-Smith
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 728-737
Date: 03/2024
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Office for the Advancement of Telehealth Grantee Directory, 2023-2024
Provides contact information and brief overviews for 71 initiatives across eight grant programs administered by the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth in the 2024 funding year.
Date: 03/2024
Sponsoring organization: Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
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Office for the Advancement of Telehealth (OAT) 2020-2024 Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP) Performance Improvement and Measurement System (PIMS): Summary Report for Program Year 3 (September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2023)
Summarizes findings from the first three years of the 2020-2024 Telehealth Network Grant Program (TNGP), which aims to promote tele-emergency services by enhancing telehealth networks to deliver 24-hour emergency department (ED) consultation services via telehealth to rural providers without emergency care specialists. Presents data on grantee network characteristics, the number of originating and distant sites, specialty areas, averted transfers, ED and hospital readmissions, other uses of the telehealth network, and more.
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Georgia Health Policy Center, Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
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ACP Consumer Survey
Survey of 5,317 Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) households to measure the impact of ACP participation on Internet access and affordability. Includes rural breakdown of data and access to healthcare data.
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Federal Communications Commission
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Assessing the Acceptability and Feasibility of Remote Spirometric Monitoring for Rural Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease: A Multimethod Approach
Examines the acceptability and feasibility of utilizing telemonitoring for rural lung disease patients who have limited access to hospital-based tests. Analyzes home-based spirometry use of 20 rural patients and provides patient feedback on satisfaction of using telehealth to complete remote monitoring of lung disease.
Author(s): Ryan D. Boente, Sydney Schacht, Rebecca Borton, et al.
Citation: Respiratory Research, 25, 92
Date: 02/2024
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State Medicaid & CHIP Telehealth Toolkit
Toolkit to support state policymakers in expanding the use of telehealth to deliver Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) services. Provides information on telehealth flexibilities under Medicaid and CHIP; billing best practices; strategies for telehealth in value-based care; best practices from states during the COVID-19 public health emergency; strategies to promote the delivery of accessible and culturally competent care via telehealth; evaluation strategies to understand how telehealth affects quality, outcomes, and cost, and more. Offers state policy and operational considerations; information about common telehealth modalities; frequently asked questions for states to consider as they explore whether to expand the use of telehealth; Medicaid managed care and fee-for-service state checklists; and other planning tools. Includes information about using telehealth to deliver services to medically underserved and rural communities, older adults, and other specific populations.
Date: 02/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Identifying Factors Associated with Variation in Telemental Health Delivery at Federally Qualified Health Centers
Examines telemental health delivery at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the U.S. Analyzes 1,270 FQHCs and their telemental appointments in 2021 and provides statistics according to mental health staffing, rurality of FQHC, state, and patient population descriptors, including age, race/ethnicity, and insurance status.
Author(s): Brianna Lombardi, Connor Sullivan, Maria Gaiser, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 15
Date: 01/2024
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Exploring Telemental Health Practice Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Presents a study on the use of telemedicine by mental health providers since the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlights the expansion of telemental health during the pandemic and how that expansion has continued in the aftermath. Breaks down data by patient and provider characteristics, as well as the rurality of providers and of the area served.
Author(s): Demi Zhu, Samantha R. Paige, Henry Slone, et al.
Citation: Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 30(1), 72-78
Date: 01/2024
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