Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health information technology

Electronic Case Reporting Roadmap - For Tribes and Tribal Epidemiology Centers
Report discusses the benefits of electronic case reporting (eCR) for tribal public health authorities and epidemiology centers (TECs). Highlights challenges in implementing eCR as well as the benefits of electronic disease surveillance conducted by Tribes and TECs. Presents guidance on the planning, implementation, and funding of tribal eCR.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Indian Health Board
view details
Health Information Technology Adoption and Utilization in Behavioral Health Settings
Explores the adoption and use of health information technology (HIT) among behavioral health providers. Presents findings from a literature review and focus group interviews regarding digital strategies that support integrated care models between physical health and behavioral health. Discusses how a lagging adoption and interoperability of HIT may affect community-based behavioral health providers working with underserved populations. Identifies policy considerations to increase interoperable HIT use among behavioral health providers. Includes rural references throughout.
Author(s): Michelle Dougherty, Rebecca McGavin, Meagan Pilar, Marc Horvath, Stephen Brown
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RTI International
view details
CAH Perspectives on Collection and Use of Demographic and Social Drivers of Health Data
Describes how collecting information about social drivers of health (SDOH) can help hospitals inform treatment and discharge planning decisions and identify local health disparities. Summarizes findings from interviews with nine Critical Access Hospital (CAH) staff regarding their experiences collecting demographic and SDOH data. Highlights themes related to challenges CAH staff face in collecting this data and how CAHs utilize the data they collect.
Author(s): Madeleine Pick, Carson Crane, Megan Lahr
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan
A guide for federal health information technology (HIT) activities. Outlines four goals and related objectives focused on promoting health and wellness, enhancing the delivery and experience of care, and accelerating research and innovation. Describes how the federal government will use the plan to prioritize resources within federal agencies, align and coordinate federal HIT initiatives, signal priorities to the private sector, and benchmark and assess the progress of federal HIT initiatives.
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
view details
Designing Survey-Based Mobile Interfaces for Rural Patients With Cancer Using Apple's ResearchKit and CareKit: Usability Study
Examines the usability of mobile health (mHealth) interfaces for patients with cancer in rural settings, utilizing a survey of 30 current or postsurgery patients. Provides data on app use habits, familiarity with mHealth, and responses to specific mobile user interfaces. Discusses approaches to facilitating mHealth access among patients with limited digital literacy.
Author(s): Alyssa Donawa, Christian Powell, Rong Wang, et al.
Citation: JMIR Formative Research, 8, e57801
Date: 09/2024
Type: Document
view details
2024 Public Health Informatics Profile: An Assessment of Informatics Capacity among Local Health Departments
Results of a national survey of local health departments (LHDs) on public health informatics challenges and opportunities. Provides data on informatics workforce, informatics infrastructure and use, data modernization, data systems and interoperability, and artificial intelligence (AI). Includes comparisons of small, medium, and large LHDs throughout.
Author(s): Krishna Patel, Meghan Shea, Gelila Tamrat, et al.
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of County and City Health Officials
view details
Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS): 2024 MIPS Promoting Interoperability Performance Category Hardship Exception Application Guide
Provides guidance on how clinicians can apply for a MIPS hardship exception. Highlights guidance for having your MIPS Promoting Interoperability performance category reweighted to 0% in cases of insufficient internet connectivity, decertified electronic health record technology, or other circumstances out of the clinicians control.
Date: 08/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
2024 National Telehealth Conference Summary Report
Offers a summary of the 2024 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) National Telehealth Conference by conference session. Covers increasing access to tele-behavioral healthcare through interstate licensure, expanding access to telehealth services for underserved and low-income communities, and federal efforts for telehealth policy and innovation. Appendices include conference materials and resources.
Additional links: 2024 National Telehealth Conference Session Recordings
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
view details
Patterns of Digital Health Access and Use among US Adults: A Latent Class Analysis
Evaluates patterns of access and use of digital technology for health purposes via a latent class analysis of 2017-2020 Health Information National Trends Survey data. See Table 3 for data on people dwelling in metropolitan, non-metropolitan urban, and rural areas.
Author(s): Phillip C. Hegeman, Daniel T. Vader, Kristyn Kamke, Sherine El-Toukhy
Citation: BMC Digital Health, 2, 42
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
view details
TEFCA Awareness and Planned Participation Among U.S. Hospitals: 2023
Evaluates survey data to determine non-federal acute care hospitals' awareness of and participation in the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA). Includes comparisons by rural and urban status as well as for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and non-CAHs, among other factors.
Author(s): Wei Chang, Meghan Hufstader Gabriel, Jordan Everson
Date: 07/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
view details