Rural Hospitals – Resources

Higher Electronic Health Record Functionality Is Associated with Lower Operating Costs in Urban—but Not Rural—Hospitals
Explores the relationship between electronic health record (EHR) use and functionality and hospital operating costs. Examines the effects of different categories of EHR functionality on general, inpatient, and outpatient costs. Compares the relationship between EHR functionality and operating costs across urban and rural hospitals.
Author(s): Claudia A. Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Citation: Applied Clinical Informatics, 13(3), 665-676
Date: 05/2022
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Rx for the Rural Healthcare Workforce and Access to Care
Podcast with Tom Morris of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy about trends related to the rural healthcare workforce and efforts to overcome challenges. Discusses the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, rural hospital closures, telehealth, graduate medical education in rural areas, community health workers and community paramedics, funding opportunities to promote healthcare access in rural areas, the opioid crisis, and more.
Author(s): Jessica Nicholson
Date: 05/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Conference Board
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Rural Hospital Profitability during the Global COVID-19 Pandemic Requires Careful Interpretation
Findings brief describing the trend of rural hospital profitability in 2011-19 and explaining why possible increases in reported profitability during the pandemic (2020-21) may mask the long-term financial challenges of rural hospitals. Features statistics including median total margin of all rural hospitals and percentage of rural hospitals with a total negative margin by year from 2011-2021, and estimated distribution of provider relief funding to hospitals as of February 2021, with breakdowns by urban or rural location.
Author(s): George Pink, Susie Gurzenda, Mark Holmes
Date: 03/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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"It's the Relationships": Q&A with Peggy Broussard Wheeler
An interview with Peggy Broussard Wheeler, Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association. Covers the challenges rural hospitals face during the pandemic, health equity efforts, workforce issues, and more. Discusses how rural hospitals work together to address concerns.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Hospitals that Closed between 2017‐20: Profitability and Liquidity in the Year Before Closure
Examines the pre-closure profitability and liquidity performance of 56 rural hospitals that closed between January 2017 and August 2020. Compares this data to the median performance of rural hospitals that remained open each year.
Author(s): Andrew S. Osgood, George H. Pink
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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An Enhanced Method for Identifying Hospital-Based Obstetric Unit Status
Results of a study using data from American Hospital Association annual surveys from 2010-2018 to conduct single- and multi-year assessments of obstetric unit status and to identify closures of obstetric units. Compares results obtained through the enhanced method with results of a survey sample of rural hospitals with obstetric units open at the time of the assessment and those with recently closed units.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Caitlin Carroll, Sara C. Handley, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Ending Surprise Medical Bills
Offers resources for healthcare providers and consumers regarding surprise billing regulations and policies. Includes information on payment dispute resolution between patients and providers, and between providers and out-of-network health plans.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Emergency Department Visits for Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm in Rural and Urban Youth
Presents a study comparing rates of emergency room visits among youth aged 5 to 19 for suicidal ideation and/or self-harm in rural and urban areas. Breaks down data by age, household income, and rural-urban hospital status, among other measures.
Author(s): Jennifer A. Hoffmann, Matt Hall, Doug Lorenz, Jay Berry
Citation: The Journal of Pediatrics, 238, 282-289
Date: 11/2021
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Association of Rural and Critical Access Hospital Status With Patient Outcomes After Emergency Department Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Compares 30-day outcomes for 473,152 Medicare patients after emergency department (ED) visits in rural or urban settings and in Critical Access Hospitals. Features statistics on mortality, ED revisits, hospitalization and transfer patterns by commonly encountered ED conditions, and characteristics of patients and of hospitals studied, with breakdowns by urban or rural location.
Author(s): Margaret Greenwood-Ericksen, Neil Kamdar, Paul Lin, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(11)
Date: 11/2021
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Examining Rural Hospital Bypass for Outpatient Services
Explores the drivers of rural hospital bypass for outpatient services and the relationship between hospital outpatient services and inpatient utilization. Examines demographic and market characteristics associated with bypass for outpatient services before and after inpatient admissions. Also analyzes how utilization for common outpatient services differs between Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals.
Date: 11/2021
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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