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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Vaccinating Rural America: Q&A with Dr. Amanda Cohn
An interview with Amanda Cohn, MD, Chief Medical Officer on the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force. Discusses CDC resources, funding, and other support to help organizations increase vaccination rates in underserved communities such as rural, tribal, and communities of color.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Health Equity and COVID-19: The Impact of Rural Residence on COVID-19 Disparities
Policy brief discussing rural health disparities, social determinants of health, access to care, and COVID-19 impacts in rural Georgia. Compares rural and urban COVID-19 case and death rates, distribution of cases by race, and disparities in Black and Hispanic rural counties. Offers policy recommendations to address disparities.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Health Policy Center
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Telemedicine Increases Access to Buprenorphine Initiation During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Discusses the expanded access to buprenorphine prescription through telemedicine during COVID-19, comparing the experiences of two harm reduction primary care programs in a rural and urban region of New York. Discusses reduced barriers to treatment, particularly delays due to in-person evaluation requirements before to the pandemic, and innovations to opioid use disorder treatment made possible through telehealth.
Author(s): Linda Wang, Jeffrey Weiss, Elizabeth Bogel Ryan, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 124, 108272
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
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Rural Barriers to Early Lung Cancer Detection: Exploring Access to Lung Cancer Screening Programs in New Hampshire and Vermont
Evaluates how geographic access to lung cancer screening facilities is related to population density, adult smoker distribution, and education level in New Hampshire and Vermont. Utilizes 2013-2017 County Health Rankings data. Discusses the significance of rural-urban access disparities in lung cancer screening, and describes the value of identifying access barriers.
Author(s): Rian M. Hasson, Kayla A. Fay, Joseph D. Phillips, Timothy M. Millington, David J. Finley
Citation: American Journal of Surgery, 221(4), 725-730
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
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Correlates of Personal Health Record Registration and Utilization among Veterans with HIV
Examines the relationship of registration and utilization of the Veteran Health Administration's (VHA) personal health record - My HealtheVet (MHV) - by a national cohort of veterans registered in MHV and who, prior to their registration, were diagnosed with HIV. Comparisons were made with veterans living with HIV who were not registered. Differences in registration and utilization were analyzed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, rurality, housing status, and behavior health.
Author(s): Tigran Avoundjian, Lara Troszak, Shayna Cave, et al.
Citation: JAIMA Open, 4(2)
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Medical Informatics Association
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April 2021 MACPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission's (MACPAC) April 2021 meeting. Covers the review of draft chapters and recommendations regarding high-cost specialty drugs, improving integration through dual-eligible special needs plans (D-SNPs), access to mental health services for adults, access to behavioral health services for children and adolescents, electronic health records as a tool for behavioral health services integration, and the non-emergency medical transportation benefit. Also details lessons from states on rebalancing, ensuring quality in Medicaid and CHIP, and what states are learning from the expanded use of telehealth.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Hunger and the Local Economy: Integrated State-Level Approaches to Food Access
Describes food insecurity challenges in rural America. Explores state policy options to improve food access such as food bucks, food procurement reforms, farm to school programs, cooperative development tax incentives, farmers markets, establishing food hubs, and supporting small grocers. Offers policy recommendations to increase access to healthy food and address food insecurity in rural communities.
Author(s): Nathan Beacom
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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Case Study: Avera Behavioral Health
Profiles Avera Behavioral Health, which partners with primary care providers, families, and other healthcare providers via a telepsychiatry network to serve rural communities nationwide. Discusses the development of the Avera Behavioral Health network, goals of the program, innovative approaches, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the network. Highlights key lessons for successful community networks.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Improving Access to Behavioral Health Crisis Services with Electronic Bed Registries
Report highlights the ways up-to-date electronic bed registries can improve crisis care treatment and access to behavioral healthcare. Features profiles of states that have received funding for electronic bed registries through the Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI). Outlines and evaluates each state-level program.
Author(s): David Morrissette
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
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Evaluation of the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies Program: First Annual Report
Reports on the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program awardees' planning year 2019-2020. Introduces the program, the need for increased access to maternal and obstetric care in rural areas, and the program's strategic goals. Offers an overview of the 3 RMOMS awardees in Texas, Missouri, and New Mexico and rural maternal health challenges in each area.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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