Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

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

Use and Performance Variations in U.S. Rural Emergency Departments: Implications for Improving Care Quality and Reducing Costs
Illustrates the utilization and performance of emergency departments (EDs) across the urban/rural spectrum for non-emergency health conditions. Identifies and discusses the potential risk factors that may impact ED use for non-emergent healthcare.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Marilyn G. Klug, Gary Hart
Date: 02/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
view details
Rural Healthy People 2020: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2020, Volume 1
Provides a rural focus for the Healthy People 2020 priorities. Includes overviews of the top 10 rural health priority areas identified by rural stakeholders. (Volume 2 discusses priorities 11-20.) Topics addressed include: health insurance, primary care, emergency services, nutrition and weight status, diabetes, mental health, substance abuse, heart disease and stroke, physical activity, older adults, maternal and child health, and tobacco use. Each overview includes reviews of the relevant literature and models that rural communities can use to address the issues. Document is available for free download, after providing brief information about intended use.
Author(s): Jane N. Bolin, Gail Bellamy, Alva O. Ferdinand, Bita Kash, Janet W. Helduser
Date: 2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
view details
National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2011 Emergency Department Summary Tables
Provides data on emergency department hospital visits, including information for non-metropolitan hospitals. Table 27 provides detailed hospital and emergency department characteristics by metropolitan status. Additional tables that include metro/non-metro data include Table 1, with general overview information, and Table 14, with injury visit data.
Date: 11/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Improving the Emergency Department Discharge Process: Environmental Scan Report
An environmental scan which includes a literature search on emergency department (ED) discharge process. Identifies factors involved with patients at high risk for ED discharge failure and discusses barriers that may hinder the discharge process. Mentions studies that include rural populations, including one rural ED that used group meetings for follow-up care to improve outcomes.
Author(s): Romsai T. Boonyasai, O. Mayowa Ijagbemi, Julius Cuong Pham, et al.
Date: 10/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Trends in Emergency Department Visits, 2006-2011
Provides data on changes in emergency department (ED) visits from 2006 to 2011. Table 1 includes information on the rate of ED use for rural areas compared to urban.
Author(s): Halcyon G. Skinner, Janice Blanchard, Anne Elixhauser
Date: 09/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Paediatric Trauma on the Last Frontier: An 11-Year Review of Injury Mechanisms, High-Risk Injury Patterns and Outcomes in Alaskan Children
Describes the development of a pediatric trauma system in remote, very rural, and urban Alaska from 2001 to 2011 using trauma data for all children 17 years and under. Includes comparative data for the type of injury and frequency, geographic region, high risk patterns, and outcomes.
Author(s): Christopher W. Snyder, Oliver J. Muensterer, Frank Sacco, Shawn D. Safford
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 73(1)
Date: 08/2014
Type: Document
view details
Effect of Tele-Emergency Services on Recruitment and Retention of US Rural Physicians
Analyzes the effects of telemedicine services on recruitment and retention of physicians to rural healthcare facilities.
Author(s): Andrew Potter, Keith Mueller, Clint MacKinney, Marcia Ward
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 14(3), 2787
Date: 08/2014
Type: Document
view details
Overview of Emergency Department Visits in the United States, 2011
Provides data on emergency department (ED) visits, including information on ED visits in rural areas.
Author(s): Audrey J. Weiss, Lauren M. Wier, Carol Stocks, Janice Blanchard
Date: 06/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
view details
Which Medicare Patients Are Transferred from Rural Emergency Departments?
Analyzes transfers of Medicare beneficiaries who received emergency care in a Critical Access Hospital or rural hospital and were transferred to another hospital for care.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Jeffrey McCullough, Robert Kreiger
Date: 06/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
The Future of the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic
Describes the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) demonstration project. Identifies the successes and challenges, and discusses the financial sustainability of the FESC model. Includes policy recommendations and lessons learned.
Author(s): Susan Wilger, Saskia Van Hecke
Date: 02/2014
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details