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Rural Hospitals – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Hospitals.

Characteristics and Costs of Potentially Preventable Inpatient Stays, 2017
Presents national estimates of potentially preventable inpatient stays among children and adults in 36 states and the costs associated with those stays. Includes data on potentially preventable hospitalization rates by the urban-rural status of patients' residences.
Additional links: Data Visualization
Date: 06/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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National Trends in the Safety Performance of Electronic Health Record Systems From 2009 to 2018
Evaluates safety performance of electronic health records (EHRs) to prevent potential adverse drug effects (ADEs), assesses hospital EHR safety performance for specific subcategories of potential ADEs, and examines the associations of EHR vendors with safety performance. Features statistics including characteristics of surveyed hospitals, such as hospital size and urban or rural location.
Author(s): David C. Classen, A. Jay Holmgren, Zoe Co, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5)
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
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Most Rural Hospitals Have Little Cash Going into COVID
Findings brief exploring two scenarios in which rural hospitals have cash on hand for either 180 days or 7 days, representing the estimate of time the facilities could operate without receiving additional revenue, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. Features statistics showing median days cash on hand by Medicare Payment Classification, with breakdowns by 7 types of hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals and Sole Community Hospitals.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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COVID-19 Exposes Threat to America's Broken Rural Health Care System
Recording of an April 21, 2020, webinar featuring members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Rural Health Task Force. Discusses the Task Force's policy recommendations to stabilize the rural healthcare infrastructure and ensure local access to care as outlined in the report Confronting Rural America's Health Care Crisis. Describes how these recommendations will address the closures of obstetrics units, promote value-based care, provide incentives for clinicians to stay in rural areas, and remove barriers to telehealth. Transcript available by clicking the dots above the video description, then selecting Show Transcript.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force
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Rural Hospital Participation in Medicare Accountable Care Organizations
Report explores the rates of rural hospital participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program (SSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). Details some of the factors that correspond to participation and compares rates by region and by rural status.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Geographic Variation in the 2018 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals
Compares the profitability of Critical Access Hospitals, other rural hospitals, and urban hospitals in 2018 by census region, census division, and state. Examines the reasons for geographic variation in the profitability of urban and rural hospitals.
Additional links: 2016‐18 Profitability of Urban and Rural Hospitals by Medicare Payment Classification, Rural Hospitals with Long‐Term Unprofitability, Understanding the Broader Context of Rural Hospitals and Profitability
Author(s): Andrew W. Maxwell, Ann Howard, George H. Pink
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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KSB Hospital Response for Coronavirus (COVID-19) - Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital, Dixon, Ill.
Profiles a rural Illinois hospital's experience developing drive-through screening for COVID-19. Offers lessons learned early on in the process regarding the training of staff and partnering with county health departments.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Cybersecurity Toolkit for Rural Hospitals and Clinics
Describes 4 steps to help rural clinics and hospitals develop and maintain cybersecurity programs: awareness, assessment, implementation and remediation, and education. Includes a list of resources, checklists, and tools appropriate for all users.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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The Rural Health Safety Net Under Pressure: Rural Hospital Vulnerability
Examines financial and operational metrics for closed hospitals in the 36 months prior to closure. Identifies 453 rural facilities vulnerable to closure and the performance variables that have the greatest impact on a facility's likelihood of closure.
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Medicare: Information on Medicare-Dependent Hospitals
Provides an overview of the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program, how the MDH designation differs from other rural hospital designations, and how MDH hospitals have changed over time. Discusses the decrease in the number of MDHs over time. Examines a variety of operational and financial metrics across MDHs over time.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Last Updated: 4/18/2024