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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare business and finance

Comparing Rural and Urban Medicare Part D Enrollment Patterns and Prescription Drug Coverage Rates
Examines Medicare Part D enrollment rates in rural and urban areas and the resulting impact on rural beneficiaries' overall prescription drug coverage rates.
Author(s): Yvonne Jonk, Heidi O'Connor, Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 05/2013
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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An Overview of Lean: A Guide for the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program
Explains the key Lean concepts as they relate to rural healthcare delivery, and outlines the necessary steps that will help rural healthcare facilities reduce waste, improve productivity, and provide better patient care.
Date: 04/2013
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Technical Assistance and Services Center
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Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Guide: Using HCAHPS to Drive Patient and Employee Satisfaction
Describes the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey and data collection process. Explains how rural providers can use the survey findings to improve hospital operations, patient outcomes, and quality scores. Includes case studies of two hospitals that used HCAHPS data to successfully drive patient and employee satisfaction.
Date: 03/2013
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Resource Center, Technical Assistance and Services Center
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Profile of Rural Health Clinics: Clinic & Medicare Patient Characteristics: Review of 2009 Medicare Outpatient Claims Data
Reports on the clinic-level characteristics and geographic distribution of Rural Health Clinics, and provides an overview of the Medicare beneficiaries they served.
Author(s): Andrea D. Radford, Denise A. Kirk, Hilda A. Howard, Mark Holmes
Date: 03/2013
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2013
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report.
Date: 03/2013
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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The Future of Rural Health
Describes the state of the rural healthcare system and the opportunities for improvement with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. Discusses core concepts of providing primary care, basic mental health and oral health services, surgery and obstetric, pharmacy, eye and audiology services, public health, new models of care, workforce issues, and more.
Author(s): Charlie Alfero, Tommy Barnhart, Darrold Bertsch, et al.
Date: 02/2013
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural America's Oral Health Care Needs
Provides an overview of rural America's oral healthcare needs. Includes recommendations for improving oral health in rural America.
Author(s): Anne Braswell, Nalo Johnson
Date: 02/2013
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Hospital Participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program
Proposes modifications to the Medicare Shared Savings Programs (MSSP) and the Advanced Payment Program to help transform the healthcare delivery system in rural communities. Discusses expanding Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities from a single primary care provider to a Community Care Organization (CCO) with shared savings payments and providing early payments to CCOs to support infrastructure and chronic disease management.
Author(s): Lynn Barr
Date: 02/2013
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Telehealth and Medicare: Payment Policy, Current Use, and Prospects for Growth
Examines growth in Medicare paid telehealth services by analyzing claims data matched to patient zip codes and provider characteristics. Includes a map of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth by county of residence and analysis on the types of telehealth services provided.
Author(s): Matlin Gilman, Jeff Stensland
Citation: Medicare & Medicaid Research Review, 3(4)
Date: 2013
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Geographic Accessibility and Utilization of Orthodontic Services among Medicaid Children and Adolescents
Reports the rates of Iowa children and adolescents receiving Medicaid-funded orthodontia services. Identifies geographic barriers to care and factors associated with utilization. Figure 1 illustrates the orthodontic dental service areas (DSAs) and Table 3 provides descriptive characteristics of orthodontic DSAs.
Author(s): Susan C. McKernan, Raymond A. Kuthy, Elizabeth T. Momany, et al.
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 73(1), 56-64
Date: 2013
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