Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

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

MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Outpatient Prospective Payment System for FY 2024
Comment on the July 31, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payments for calendar year 2024. Includes discussions on extending the use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, a proposed quality measure for emergency department visits in Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and more.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Differential Treatment and Outcomes for Patients With Heart Attacks in Advantaged and Disadvantaged Communities
Analyzes geographic disparities in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) access, treatment, and outcomes among patients with acute myocardial infarction in California using 2006-2020 patient data. Compares mortality, readmissions, same-day PCI, distance to PCI, and more by neighborhood disadvantage status. Highlights factors associated with neighborhood disadvantage including race, ethnicity, and rurality.
Author(s): Yu-Chu Shen, Nandita Sarkar, Renee Y. Hsia
Citation: Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(17), e030506
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
view details
Caring for Rural Communities in the Geriatric ED
Webinar recording discussing care for older patients in rural emergency departments. Includes information on rural specific challenges and innovative rural programs. Transcript available within the video playback.
Additional links: Chat Notes, Slide Deck
Date: 08/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: The Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative
view details
Emergency Department Interventions for Opioid Use Disorder: Overview of the Landscape, Key Components, and Analysis of Five Case Studies
Provides an overview of the evidence base for emergency department (ED)-based programs to address and treat opioid use disorders (OUD). Describes factors that motivated the development of these programs, how they are structured and financed, and barriers and facilitators to ED-based OUD treatment. Features case studies of five ED-based programs, including Marshall Medical Center in rural California.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Brandeis University, HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
view details
COVID-19 Hospital Encounters by Urban-Rural Location of the Hospital by Week From Selected Hospitals
Line chart showing hospitals' percentage of confirmed COVID-19 encounters among all emergency department or inpatient encounters. Includes data from March 2020 through December 2022 for large central and fringe metro areas, medium and small metro areas, and rural areas.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Urban-Rural Disparities in Interfacility Transfers for Children During COVID-19
Presents a study on the rates of rural and urban pediatric interfacility transfers (IFTs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Compares IFT rates from before the pandemic. Breaks down rural and urban data by medical complexity, transfer type, and census region, among other measures.
Author(s): Corrie E. McDaniel, DO,1,2 JoAnna K. Leyenaar, MD, PhD, MPH,3,4 Mersine A. Bryan, et al
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 39(3), 611-616
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
view details
Emergency Department Preparedness to Care for Sexual Assault Survivors: A Nationwide Study
Surveys 315 sexual assault (SA) advocates to determine emergency department staff preparedness and available resources for SA survivors. Discusses rural and urban access to sexual assault nurse examiners and implications for quality of care.
Author(s): Kristen Chalmers, Meredith Hollender, Liam Spurr, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 24(3)
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
view details
Characterizing Social Insecurity in a Rural North Carolina Emergency Department
Results of a study exploring, characterizing, and quantifying the social insecurity profile of emergency department patients at a rural teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina with a large Native American population. Uses data from a survey questionnaire administered in May and June 2018, focusing on food insecurity, transportation insecurity, and exposure to violence.
Author(s): Elizabeth Gignac, Godwin Y. Dogbey, Aleksandr Pevtsov, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 24(3), 538–546
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
view details
Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model Evaluation: Second Evaluation Report
Provides an overview of the Accountable Health Communities (ACH) Model, which tests whether identifying and addressing core health-related social needs (HRSNs) of community-dwelling beneficiaries improves health outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and reduces unnecessary healthcare utilization. Explores the context in which the AHC Model was implemented and the model's impacts on Medicaid, FFS Medicare, and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Presents information on participating organizations that had rural areas within their geographic target areas (GTAs) and compares outcomes among urban and rural participants.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
view details
DRCHSD Spotlight on Natchitoches Regional Medical Center
Profiles Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (NRMC) in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Discusses how NRMC implemented best practices from the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program to improve their emergency department redirect program and form community partnerships to address social determinants of health and improve the health of the population.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details