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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

2024 Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Care in Medicare
Examines rural/urban differences in the quality of healthcare received by Medicare beneficiaries in 2023, with breakdowns by race and ethnicity. Describes trends in quality of care for rural and urban residents between 2017 and 2023.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Rural Value-Based Care – The Payer Perspective
Summarizes discussions on rural value-based care (VBC) contracting during a July 2024 summit of leaders from national and regional healthcare payer organizations. Describes challenges facing payer organizations that serve rural beneficiaries, including engaging rural healthcare organizations in VBC; solutions to rural-specific challenges; and recommendations for rural healthcare organizations.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Transitional Palliative Care for Family Caregivers: Outcomes From a Randomized Controlled Trial
Examines the influence of mentoring from a palliative care nurse on family caregivers in rural and other areas of three states. Analyzes adult caregivers from 2018-2022 after their care recipient who utilized inpatient palliative care was discharged from the hospital. Compares a control group who received only monthly phone calls with an intervention group who received teaching, guidance, and counseling. Discusses importance of both caregiver support and patient wellness.
Author(s): Joan M. Griffin, Jay N. Mandrekar, Catherine E. Vanderboom, et al.
Citation: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 68(5), 456-466
Date: 11/2024
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Care Patterns and Outcomes for Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma by Rurality of Patient Residence in a Midwestern State
Examines mortality, treatment utilization, and access to care for people with intraheptic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) in rural, micropolitan, and urban areas, utilizing Iowa Cancer Registry data for 672 patients diagnosed with ICC between 2010 and 2020. Provides data breakdowns by level of rurality on patient demographics, distance to care, type of facility providing care, mortality, and odds of receiving surgery or chemotherapy.
Author(s): Mohammed O. Suraju, Darren M. Gordon, Amanda R. Kahl, et al.
Citation: Journal of Surgical Oncology, 131(3), 450-456
Date: 10/2024
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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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Quality Measurement in Rural Health Clinics: Policy Brief and Recommendations to the Secretary
Provides an overview of the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) program, RHC participation in value-based programs and models, and quality reporting challenges. Describes opportunities for growth in RHC quality reporting. Offers two policy recommendations to support RHC participation in value-based care.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Telehealth: 2025 National Patient Safety Goals
Identifies National Patient Safety Goals for the Joint Commission's Telehealth Accreditation Program. Covers patient and resident identification, caregiver communication, medication safety, suicide prevention, healthcare equity, and more. Effective January 1, 2025.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint Commission
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Rural Health Clinic: 2025 National Patient Safety Goals
Identifies National Patient Safety Goals for the Joint Commission's Rural Health Clinic Accreditation Program. Covers patient identification, medication safety, infection prevention, and more. Effective January 1, 2025.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint Commission
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Critical Access Hospital: 2025 National Patient Safety Goals
Identifies National Patient Safety Goals for the Joint Commission's Critical Access Hospital Accreditation Program. Covers patient identification, caregiver communication, medication safety, infection prevention, suicide prevention, healthcare equity, and more. Effective January 1, 2025.
Date: 10/2024
Sponsoring organization: Joint Commission
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Validation of Prognostic Scales for Functional Outcome in Ischemic Stroke Patients Treated with Intravenous Thrombolysis in a Rural Setting
Examines the efficacy of prognostic tools for stroke recovery in a rural setting, utilizing data of 279 stroke patients who received thrombolytic therapy at the Southern Illinois Healthcare Stroke Network from July 2017 to June 2024. Provides data on the performance of the DRAGON, MRI-DRAGON, and S-TPI tools in predicting positive and negative patient outcomes.
Author(s): Andrea Loggini, Faddi G. Saleh Velez, Jonatan Hornik, et al.
Citation: Cerebrovascular Diseases Extra, 14(1), 148-157
Date: 10/2024
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