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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Telemedicine: What Should the Post-Pandemic Regulatory and Payment Landscape Look Like?
Discusses changes to telemedicine regulation and payment policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, examining the effects of these temporary changes in relation to the broader issues that telemedicine policy addresses. Explores possible long-term options for insurers and regulators and offers policy recommendations.
Author(s): Ateev Mehrotra, Bill Wang, Gregory Snyder
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Roundtable Discussion: Examining the Role of Telehealth during COVID-19 and Beyond
Video recording of an August 6, 2020, discussion on telehealth policies and impacts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and key considerations for the future of telehealth policy. Examines rural topics throughout, including access to broadband and using RHCs and FQHCs as originating site providers for telehealth services. Transcript available by clicking the dots above the video description, then selecting Show transcript.
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: House Ways and Means Committee
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Providing Maternity Care in a Rural Northern Iowa Community
Describes how a rural Critical Access Hospital in Iowa has sustained its maternity care practice and offers suggestions for other rural hospitals and communities seeking to retain local access to pregnancy and childbirth services.
Author(s): Alexandria Kristensen-Cabrera, Julia D. Interrante, Carrie Henning-Smith, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 08/2020
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Telehealth in Practice Lana'i CHC
A recorded webinar that discusses the incorporation of telehealth in a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) on a remote island in Hawaii to support access to prenatal care. Transcript available below description.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center
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Investing in Rural Communities to Achieve Health Equity
Brief describing how The Two Georgias Initiative supported communities in their efforts to address the growing health and healthcare disparities occurring in rural areas of Georgia. Discusses the collective efforts of 11 organizations representing rural communities to establish a community health coalition and a community health improvement plan that includes representation of those most impacted by health inequities. Encourages grantmaking organizations to create funding opportunities that address health equity issues in rural areas.
Author(s): Lisa Medellin, Samantha Bourque Tucker
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Grantmakers in Health
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Closing the Rural Cancer Care Gap: Three Institutional Approaches
Summarizes barriers and issues to providing quality cancer care in rural areas. Details the geographic distribution of oncologists in the U.S. Highlights 3 models in Ohio, Missouri, and New Mexico to address care challenges for rural cancer patients.
Author(s): Laura A. Levit, Leslie Byatt, Alan P. Lyss, et al.
Citation: Journal of Oncology Practice, 16(7), 422-430
Date: 07/2020
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Behavioral Health Care System Capacity in Pennsylvania and Its Impact on Hospital Emergency Departments and Patient Health
An assessment of Pennsylvania's behavioral health needs and the impact that the behavioral healthcare system's capacity has on hospital emergency departments and patient health. Examines the effect of provider shortages, the role of first responders, emergency response models, and efforts to expand telehealth. Mentions rural throughout.
Author(s): Yvonne Llewellyn Hursh, Bryan W. DeWalt, Allison N. Kobzowicz, et al.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Joint State Government Commission, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
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Special Needs in Rural America: Implications for Healthcare Workforce Education, Training, and Practice
Offers policy recommendations to strengthen rural health workforce training and improve access to healthcare in rural areas. Addresses the health and social needs of rural America through evidence-based health workforce investments in education, training, and practice. Examines disparities in health and access to care in rural areas, and mismatch in supply and demand.
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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Spatial Barriers as Moral Failings: What Rural Distance Can Teach Us about Women's Health and Medical Mistrust
Explores the perceptions of rural women about their access to healthcare, including maternal care. Discusses some of the perceived barriers to healthcare access by rural women, such as spacial distance and mistrust of healthcare providers.
Author(s): Michele Statz, Kaylie Evers
Citation: Health and Place, 64, 102396
Date: 07/2020
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Rural Interfacility Emergency Department Transfers: Framework and Qualitative Analysis
Examines the transfer for rural emergency patients to other facilities across 2 urban and 5 rural Veterans Health Administration facilities. Discusses 3 factors that influence the decision of transferring a patient: patient factors, system resources, and clinical and administrative processes.
Author(s): Candace D. McNaughton, Kemberlee Bonnet, David Schlundt, et al.
Citation: The Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 21(4), 858-865
Date: 07/2020
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