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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency department and urgent care services

Inpatient Hospital Stays and Emergency Department Visits Involving Influenza, 2006–2016
Examines inpatient stays and treat-and-release emergency department visits with an influenza diagnosis from the 2006–2007 flu season through the 2015–2016 flu season. Covers in-hospital mortality rates, average stay length, and cost. Includes data by patient location for metropolitan areas, rural adjacent to metro, and rural remote areas.
Author(s): Kathryn R. Fingar, Lan Liang, Carol Stocks
Date: 10/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Traumatic Injury and Access to Care in Rural Areas: Leveraging Linked Data and Geographic Information Systems for Planning and Advocacy
Analyzes county-level data representing traumatic injury rates in rural Colorado. Discusses challenges to trauma care in rural areas, including distance to trauma centers, rates of injury, prevention resources, EMS response times, and limited EMS capacity. Includes county-level maps showing transportation time to trauma centers, mortality rates, and hospitalization rates for traumatic injury.
Author(s): Paula Yuma, Rebecca Orsi, Julie Dunn, et al.
Citation: Rural Remote Health, 19(3), 5089
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
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Violence Against Hospital Workers: Growing Awareness, Rural Interventions, and Why It Still Goes Unreported
Provides an overview of workplace violence in healthcare settings. Features rural hospitals in Oregon and Idaho that are undertaking a range of prevention activities addressing workplace violence. Also features research findings from a Michigan healthcare system study on the topic, and identifies resources and tools that rural hospital leaders can use to help protect hospital staff.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Hospital Closures Reduce Access to Emergency Care
Recognizes the importance of hospital and emergency care services in providing healthcare in rural communities, and discusses the current hospital closure rate. Uses federal data to compare the financial viability of rural and urban hospitals, and the availability of emergency care in rural communities. Suggests policy recommendations for improving access to healthcare and emergency care for rural populations.
Author(s): Tarun Ramesh, Emily Gee
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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Transformation Support Provided Remotely to a National Cohort of Optometry Practices
Describes the results of a practice transformation and quality improvement project for optometry practices. Compares cost-savings and emergency department avoidance data between rural and urban practices.
Author(s): Ronald N. Adler, Warren J. Ferguson, Hussein Antar, et al.
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 17(5), S33-S39
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Advancing Health Equity and Access Using Telemedicine: A Geospatial Assessment
Highlights a study on the effectiveness of a virtual urgent care (VUC) program in expanding healthcare access and addressing health equity in rural populations in North Carolina. Compares rural versus urban areas and breaks down data by rates of poverty, Medicare and Medicaid enrollment, and broadband access, among other measures.
Author(s): Saif Khairat, Timothy Haithcoat, Songzi Liu, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 26(8-9), 796–805
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
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Developing Risk-Adjusted Avoidable Hospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits Quality Measures: Final Report
Defines avoidable hospitalization (AH) and avoidable emergency department (ED) visits (AVs) and summarizes the development of a model for calculating expected AH and AV rates using Medicare claims data. Seeks to inform Medicare quality payment models and target areas for quality improvement. Table 3-10 includes AH and AV risk-standardized rates for a number of rural market areas.
Author(s): Zhanlian Feng, Benjamin Silver, Micah Segelman, et al.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, RTI International
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Mobile Telehealth Units and Care Coordinators Improve Emergency Care Services for Rural Arizona Patients
Features an Arizona program focused on lowering ER readmissions through care coordination and EMS telehealth services. Explains how the telehealth services are provided via mobile telehealth units. Describes how care coordination helps meet the behavioral health needs of patients with chronic diseases.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Urban/Rural Residence Effect on Emergency Department Visits Arising From Food-induced Anaphylaxis
Examines urban/rural differences by age and race/ethnicity in emergency department (ED) pediatric visit rates for food-induced anaphylaxis using 2009-2014 data from New York and Florida.
Author(s): Rie Sakai-Bizmark, Scott M.I. Friedlander, Karin Oshima, Eliza J. Webber, Laurie A. Mena, et al
Citation: Allergology International, 68(3), 316–320
Date: 07/2019
Type: Document
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Critical Crossroads: Pediatric Mental Health Care in the Emergency Department: A Care Pathway Resource Toolkit
Toolkit designed to support hospitals that provide high-quality, effective emergency care to pediatric patients in psychiatric distress. Includes case stories from rural emergency departments in various states.
Date: 07/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
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