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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health information technology

Restoring Access to Maternity Care in Rural America
Examines regional partnerships to build rural access to maternity care through hub-and-spoke models of education and support from urban healthcare organizations to rural maternity providers, investments in telehealth, and remote monitoring systems. Discusses barriers to maternity care access in rural areas and highlights local examples of maternal health provider networks, investments in the rural maternity workforce, and policy implications of developing rural maternity care.
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Challenges to Public Health Reporting Experienced by Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals, 2019
Data brief examining public health reporting among acute care hospitals, including rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Outlines challenges with the exchange of electronic health information, such as lack of capacity to exchange electronically, interface issues, and differing vocabulary standards. Compares challenges faced by hospitals by size, CAH status, rural/urban, and independent/system affiliated and offers state-level maps of percent of hospitals reporting specific challenges.
Author(s): Chelsea Richwine, Carmelita Marshall, Christian Johnson, Vaishali Patel
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Use of Electronic Health Records to Manage Tobacco Screening and Treatment in Rural Primary Care
Study examining the benefits of using electronic health records (EHR) in addressing tobacco dependence by primary care providers, comparing rural and urban data from the 2012-2015 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Discusses the utility of EHR and barriers to EHR adoption in rural practices, and offers data tables covering patient characteristics and statistics related to primary care visits and smoking cessation.
Author(s): Jean A. Talbot, Erika C. Ziller, Carly M. Milkowski
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
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Higher Electronic Health Record (EHR) Functionality Lowers Urban Hospital Costs but Rural Impacts Are Minimal
Examines the relationship between electronic health record (EHR) functionality and hospital costs. Compares the effect of increasing EHR functionality in urban and rural hospitals and by inpatient and outpatient service categories.
Author(s): Claudia Alejandra Rhoades, Brian E. Whitacre, Alison F. Davis
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health
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Adoption of Health System Innovations: Evidence of Urban-Rural Disparities from the Ohio Primary Care Marketplace
Examines the market penetration of Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs), and the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) among primary care providers (PCPs) in Ohio between 2011 and 2015. Compares the percentage of PCPs who are affiliated with ACOs, PCMHs, and meaningful use by urban and rural county status.
Author(s): Joseph E. Tanenbaum, Mark Votruba, Douglas Einstadter, Thomas E. Love, Randall D. Cebul
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(6), 1584–1590
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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Evaluation of the State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Round 2: Model Test Final Report
Final report on the Round 2 State Innovation Models (SIM) program across eleven participating states - Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington. Discusses the adoption of delivery models and payment reforms related to value-based payment (VBP) and alternative payment models (APMs). Examines whether the implementation efforts and healthcare delivery system reforms impacted the quality of care, health outcomes, population health, and spending.
Additional links: Appendix, Findings at a Glance
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2021
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Discusses high-cost specialty drugs in the Medicaid program, access to mental health services for those enrolled in Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), integration of physical and behavioral health care through electronic health records (EHRs), Medicaid's non-emergency transportation (NEMT) benefit, and state strategies for integrating care for people who are dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Hospital Capabilities to Enable Patient Electronic Access to Health Information, 2019
Reports on the percentage of U.S. hospitals that provide patients with electronic access to health information. Includes charts comparing types of electronic access; facility type including Critical Access, rural, and suburban-urban hospitals; and what types of information patients access.
Author(s): Christian Johnson, Wesley Barker
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Lessons Learned from the Cohort Analysis of Rural Health Programs: Data Dashboards
Describes the use of data dashboards by Federal Office of Rural Health Policy grantees to capture key healthcare measures and track patient outcomes and trends. Identifies challenges and shares lessons learned that can help other rural health facilities design and implement data dashboards.
Additional links: Webinar Overview
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Correlates of Personal Health Record Registration and Utilization among Veterans with HIV
Examines the relationship of registration and utilization of the Veteran Health Administration's (VHA) personal health record - My HealtheVet (MHV) - by a national cohort of veterans registered in MHV and who, prior to their registration, were diagnosed with HIV. Comparisons were made with veterans living with HIV who were not registered. Differences in registration and utilization were analyzed by age, sex, race/ethnicity, rurality, housing status, and behavior health.
Author(s): Tigran Avoundjian, Lara Troszak, Shayna Cave, et al.
Citation: JAIMA Open, 4(2)
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Medical Informatics Association
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