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Resources by Topic: Critical Access Hospitals

The Financial Importance of Medicare Post-Acute and Hospice Care to Rural Hospitals
Findings brief describing variation in the number of hospitals in rural areas providing Medicare post-acute care (PAC) and hospice care, average amount of revenue generated for these services, and financial importance to rural hospitals. Includes statistics on 2015 Medicare PAC and hospice care revenue as percentage of patient revenue in 1,205 Critical Access Hospitals and 964 Prospective Payment System hospitals.
Author(s): Alex Schulte, H. Ann Howard, George H. Pink
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Implementation of Antibiotic Stewardship Core Elements at Small and Critical Access Hospitals
Presents strategies for implementing antibiotic stewardship programs in critical access hospitals (CAHs). Includes examples of improved antibiotic-use strategies and guidelines for the prescribing physician, nurses, and pharmacists.
Date: 07/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Changes in Hospital Quality Associated with Hospital Value-Based Purchasing
Examines whether quality improved more in acute care hospitals exposed to Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program. Uses Critical Access Hospitals as a comparison for clinical process, patient experience, and mortality measures.
Author(s): Andrew M. Ryan, Sam Krinsky, Kristen A. Maurer, Justin B. Dimick
Citation: New England Journal of Medicine, 376(24), 2358-2366
Date: 06/2017
Type: Document
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A Study of HCAHPS Best Practices in High Performing Critical Access Hospitals
Provides an overview of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, and presents HCAHPS best practices of high performing Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Findings are based on focus group discussions with 38 hospitals across 17 states.
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Identifying Adverse Drug Events in Rural Hospitals: An Eight-State Study
Analyzes adverse drug events (ADEs), or events involving patient injury resulting from medication use, and identifies ways to improve medication safety in rural hospitals. Uses 2013 data from 8 states with significant rural populations, and examines ADE rates based on hospital characteristics and across 4 main categories: steroids, antibiotics, opiates/narcotics, and anticoagulants. Companion brief lists resources that can be used to reduce and prevent ADEs in rural hospitals, including rural prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Additional links: Resources to Reduce Adverse Drug Events in Rural Hospitals
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Peiyin Hung, Emma Distel, Shailendra Prasad
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Finance in Rural and Urban Hospitals
Summary of the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on the insurance coverage rates and reimbursement methods in rural hospitals in Minnesota. Includes a discussion of public and private insurance programs, uncompensated care, and operating margins. Includes data and statistic comparisons for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), other rural hospitals, and urban hospitals.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, March 2017
Reports on three aspects of Medicaid: Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to states and providers, access to Medicaid, and children's coverage under CHIP. Chapter 2 includes the second annual report on DSH payments, which provide support to safety-net hospitals to help offset uncompensated care costs for Medicaid and uninsured patients. Table 2-1 identifies DSH spending for urban and rural hospitals and for Critical Access Hospitals. Chapter 3 examines state policies for distributing DSH payments to hospitals, including which states target rural or Critical Access Hospitals.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Medicaid Expansion, Budgetary Projections, and Impact on Hospitals
Examines the impact of Medicaid expansion in Louisiana on rural hospitals, healthcare providers, and the state budget. Addresses the potential impact on rural hospitals of a cutback in disproportionate share (DSH) payments for uncompensated care.
Author(s): James A. Richardson, Jared J. Llorens, Roy L. Heidelberg
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Louisiana Public Health Institute
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Madison County Memorial Hospital: Making the Most of FOA
Documents Madison County Memorial Hospital's (MCMH) successes from participating in the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project. Top accomplishments include improving relationships with the community and other providers, business office operations, leadership development, and transitions of care, as well as developing outpatient rehab services. MCMH is a 25-bed, nonprofit Critical Access Hospital located in Madison, Florida.
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Strategies for Superbugs: Antibiotic Stewardship for Rural Hospitals
Discusses the need for antibiotic stewardship (AS) and challenges rural hospitals face in implementing AS programs. Highlights efforts underway for a group of hospitals in Utah and at Critical Access Hospitals in Idaho and Utah.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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