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

Rural Emergency Hospital: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Describes the development of the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation in response to rural hospital closures and issues accessing emergency care. Lists statutory requirements for hospitals wishing to become an REH, and offers policy recommendations related to participation conditions, quality reporting, reimbursement, and emergency medical transfer agreement.
Date: 10/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs for CY 2022
Comments on an August 4, 2021, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2022. Includes considerations for Rural Emergency Hospital payments and emergency department staffing requirements.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Paying for Telemedicine in Smaller Rural Hospitals: Extending the Technology to Those Who Benefit Most
Viewpoint article discussing the positive financial impacts of telemedicine in emergency departments (EDs) and barriers to using telemedicine in small rural hospitals related to patient volume, high upfront costs, and reimbursement issues. Outlines policy interventions to support rural telemedicine.
Author(s): Kori S. Zachrison, Jessica V. Richard, Ateev Mehrotra
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 2(8), e211570
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
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Emergency Department Visits Involving Dental Conditions, 2018
Presents data on emergency department (ED) visits involving dental conditions using the 2018 Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS). Describes characteristics of dental-related ED visits, including age, sex, metropolitan status of patient residence, and community-level income. Includes statistics on the number and percentage of ED visits that resulted in hospital admission, types of dental-related ED visits by payer, and groups and types of dental conditions by type of ED visit.
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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A Cross-Sectional Analysis of High Acuity Professional Services Performed by Urban and Rural Emergency Care Physicians Across the United States
Evaluates high acuity service practices between 34,256 metropolitan and nonmetropolitan physicians offering emergency care to Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. Discusses rural-specific factors that may contribute to disparities.
Author(s): Cameron J. Gettel, Maureen E. Canavan, Margaret B. Greenwood-Ericksen, et al.
Citation: Annals of Emergency Medicine: An International Journal 78(1), 140-149
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
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Remote Patient Monitoring Helps Rural Patients Recover at Home
Features Essentia Health's remote patient monitoring program, which allows patients to recover at home while still having access to medical attention. Describes how the program was used to treat COVID-19 patients, with plans to continue the program to treat other chronic diseases.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Strategies for Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Rural Health System in New York State
Describes the challenges of COVID-19 encountered by Bassett Healthcare Network (BHN), a network of 5 hospitals and 24 clinics located in rural upstate New York covering the healthcare needs of 5 counties. Presents four strategies in response to these challenges: expand the capacity of intensive-care; retrain and reposition employees into new roles; adopt a system providing rapid access to care and follow-up; and coordinate communication and decision-making with network administrators, employees, and other healthcare professionals.
Author(s): Jamie A. Aron, Alexander J.B. Bulteel, Kelsey A. Clayman, et al.
Citation: Healthcare, 9(2), 100508
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: 2018 Emergency Department Summary Tables
Provides data on ambulatory care emergency department (ED) hospital visits. Table 1 provides metropolitan/nonmetropolitan ED visit data based on hospital location, Table 2 includes metro/nonmetro ED visit data by location of patient residence, and Table 14 has metro/nonmetro injury visit data based on hospital location.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Evaluation of the 2020 Pediatric Emergency Physician Workforce in the US
Results of a study of 2,403 self-identified pediatric emergency physicians (EPs), examining their characteristics and their practice locations. Features a county-level map showing pediatric EP density per 100,000 population, and statistics with breakdowns by age, sex, U.S. census division, training specialty area, board certification, and urban, large rural, or small rural location.
Author(s): Christopher L. Bennett, Janice A. Espinola, Ashley F. Sullivan, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 4(5)
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
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Improving Access to Behavioral Health Crisis Services with Electronic Bed Registries
Report highlights the ways up-to-date electronic bed registries can improve crisis care treatment and access to behavioral healthcare. Features profiles of states that have received funding for electronic bed registries through the Transformation Transfer Initiative (TTI). Outlines and evaluates each state-level program.
Author(s): David Morrissette
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
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