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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency medical services

Emergency Medical Services (EMS): A Look at Disparities in Funding and Outcomes
Details disparities related to rurality, income, sex, and race in emergency medical services (EMS) funding, staffing, and patient outcomes. Provides a case study of local EMS agencies in 11 California counties, highlighting challenges rural agencies face related to funding and quality of care.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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The Impacts of New York's Balance Billing Regulation on Ground Ambulance Pricing
Examines the impact of surprise out-of-network (OON) billing regulations on New York emergency ground ambulances. Analyzes 2012-2019 commercial claims data and discusses the impacts of billing regulations on costs of care, with considerations related to transports from rural, super-rural, and urban locations.
Author(s): Wendy Y. Xu, Christopher Garmon, Sheldon M. Retchin, Yiting Li
Citation: Health Services Research
Date: 10/2024
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Medicare Payment Basics: Ambulance Services Payment System
Provides an overview of Medicare payments for ambulance services. Discusses rural add-on payment policies, geographic categories determining payment rates, super-rural ZIP codes, and ambulance fee schedules.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Oregon Areas of Unmet Health Care Need Report, 2024
Covers nine variables that describe areas of unmet healthcare need in Oregon and measure access to primary care, mental, and oral healthcare services. Areas of unmet need are scored based on variables within the following categories: availability of providers, ability to afford care, and utilization. Includes statistics and county-level information by service areas.
Additional links: Map
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Oregon Office of Rural Health
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A Rural Community Readiness Assessment of Prehospital Telestroke Services in the Ambulance
Assesses community perspectives on the acceptability of ambulance-based prehospital stroke telemedicine services in rural and urban communities in O'ahu, Hawai'i. Utilizes questionnaire results of 263 adults recruited from community events, with additional data from 29 follow-up interviews. Compares rural and urban attitudes toward ambulance telestroke services, local hospitals, and Hawai'i's healthcare system, and identifies positive and negative themes affecting acceptability.
Author(s): Angel Lynn E. Talana, Kyrillos B. Guirguis, J. Aaron Matthews, et al.
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 83(9), 250-256
Date: 09/2024
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Rural Health in Indiana: Challenges and Strategies
Presentation slides that provide an overview of rural health in Indiana, along with challenges and the strategies to overcome them. Focuses on rural versus urban data on workforce shortages, hospital closures, access to various services, school-based health, and more, with comparative information on the state and national level.
Author(s): Sierra Vaughn
Date: 08/2024
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Interactive Maps to Improve Stroke Systems of Care in Wisconsin
Analyzes transfer patterns of stroke patients, including driving time and distance, from small rural hospitals to large tertiary hospitals in Wisconsin. Describes the development of interactive stroke transfer maps and discusses the use of mapping to identify gaps in systems of care, improve the efficiency of emergency services, and better understand hospital capacity.
Author(s): Ka Z. Xiong, Lena Swander, Dot Bluma, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 21, 230166
Date: 07/2024
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Emergency Medical Services Encounters for Firearm Injuries — 858 Counties, United States, January 2019–September 2023
Reports on emergency medical services (EMS) encounters for firearm injury in 858 counties in 27 states. Includes annual data by location for metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Adam Rowh, Marissa Zwald, Katherine Fowler, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 73(24), 551-557
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Understanding the Rise of Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals
Explores trends in ransomware attacks on rural hospitals between 2016 and 2021 by analyzing data from the Tracking Healthcare Ransomware Events and Traits (THREAT) database. Describes the types of rural hospitals that experienced ransomware attacks during this period. Compares the frequency of hospitals' operational disruptions during attacks by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Hannah T. Neprash, Claire C. McGlave, Katie Rydberg, Carrie Henning-Smith
Date: 06/2024
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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With New EMS Quality Measures, Florida Aims to Have a National Impact on Rural Care
Features the Feasible, Actionable, Impactful and Relevant (FAIR) EMS Measurement Project, an initiative by the Florida Department of Health which developed rural-relevant EMS quality measures for use in the state and nationally.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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