Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality
CY 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule (CMS 1786-FC)
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to the community mental health centers (CMHC) Conditions of Participation (CoPs); payment for intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; payment methodology for Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities that convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status; the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to the community mental health centers (CMHC) Conditions of Participation (CoPs); payment for intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; payment methodology for Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities that convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status; the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions related to paying separately for Community Health Integration, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment, and Principal Illness Navigation services; telehealth services; mental health visits furnished by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), including marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors as eligible for payment at RHCs and FQHCs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and other Medicare Part B issues for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions related to paying separately for Community Health Integration, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Risk Assessment, and Principal Illness Navigation services; telehealth services; mental health visits furnished by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), including marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors as eligible for payment at RHCs and FQHCs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
view details
Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Overview: Vendor Directory
Provides information about the benefits and challenges of implementing a HCAHPS survey process in small rural hospitals, specifically Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes a full directory of vendors currently authorized to perform HCAHPS data collection.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Provides information about the benefits and challenges of implementing a HCAHPS survey process in small rural hospitals, specifically Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes a full directory of vendors currently authorized to perform HCAHPS data collection.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
view details
Rural Hospital Experiences in the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program
Provides an overview of the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program (CO HTP), a 5-year program that ties Medicaid supplemental payments to hospitals' ability to meet performance targets through September 2026. Describes the experiences of three Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and explores how CO HTP impacts rural hospitals. Covers planning and community engagement, quality of care, and healthcare costs.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
view details
Provides an overview of the Colorado Hospital Transformation Program (CO HTP), a 5-year program that ties Medicaid supplemental payments to hospitals' ability to meet performance targets through September 2026. Describes the experiences of three Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and explores how CO HTP impacts rural hospitals. Covers planning and community engagement, quality of care, and healthcare costs.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
view details
Health Information Workforce: Survey Results on Workforce Challenges and the Role of Emerging Technologies
Presents results of an August 2023 survey of health information professionals on workforce challenges and the impact of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, on the health information workforce. Describes challenges for recruiting and retaining health information professionals, factors that influence turnover, and the impacts of understaffing on healthcare quality and reimbursement. Discusses the future outlook for the health information profession and offers policy recommendations to enhance workforce development. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: American Health Information Management Association, NORC at the University of Chicago
view details
Presents results of an August 2023 survey of health information professionals on workforce challenges and the impact of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, on the health information workforce. Describes challenges for recruiting and retaining health information professionals, factors that influence turnover, and the impacts of understaffing on healthcare quality and reimbursement. Discusses the future outlook for the health information profession and offers policy recommendations to enhance workforce development. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: American Health Information Management Association, NORC at the University of Chicago
view details
Use of Telemedicine and Quality of Care Among Medicare Enrollees With Serious Mental Illness
Examines telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic among Medicare beneficiaries with mental illness. Analyzes levels of telemental use by mental health practices who saw patients with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder the year before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first pandemic year. Discusses patient outcomes and quality of care as correlated with telemental use, with data broken down according to practice characteristics and patient demographics, including rurality.
Author(s): Andrew D. Wilcock, Haiden A. Huskamp, Alisa B. Busch, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 4(10)
Date: 10/2023
view details
Examines telemedicine use during the COVID-19 pandemic among Medicare beneficiaries with mental illness. Analyzes levels of telemental use by mental health practices who saw patients with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder the year before the COVID-19 pandemic and during the first pandemic year. Discusses patient outcomes and quality of care as correlated with telemental use, with data broken down according to practice characteristics and patient demographics, including rurality.
Author(s): Andrew D. Wilcock, Haiden A. Huskamp, Alisa B. Busch, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 4(10)
Date: 10/2023
view details
MBQIP Quality Measures National Annual Report - 2022
Summarizes quality measure reporting rates and performance among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in 2022. Presents data on the four Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) domains: patient safety/inpatient, outpatient, patient engagement, and care transitions.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Alyssa Furukawa, Madeleine Pick, Robert Barclay
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Summarizes quality measure reporting rates and performance among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in 2022. Presents data on the four Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) domains: patient safety/inpatient, outpatient, patient engagement, and care transitions.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Alyssa Furukawa, Madeleine Pick, Robert Barclay
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
view details
Health Panel Comment Letter – Encouraging Rural Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care Models
Offers comments in response to the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) Request for Information regarding rural participation in population-based total cost of care models. Covers considerations for determining the most relevant definition of rural, barriers that impact rural providers' participation in alternative payment models (APMs), service delivery models and resources that are effective in encouraging value-based care (VBC) transformation in rural areas, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Offers comments in response to the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) Request for Information regarding rural participation in population-based total cost of care models. Covers considerations for determining the most relevant definition of rural, barriers that impact rural providers' participation in alternative payment models (APMs), service delivery models and resources that are effective in encouraging value-based care (VBC) transformation in rural areas, and more.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Data Element Identification and Data Collection Procedures for the HRSA Direct-to-Consumer Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program
Provides an overview of the development of a common set of data elements to evaluate the Office of the Advancement of Teleheath's Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program, which aims to build an evidence base for telehealth in rural settings. Outlines 27 patient-level, encounter-level, and outcome data elements on patients who receive direct-to-consumer telehealth services and a comparable group of patients who receive in-person services. Describes data collection and management procedures.
Author(s): Marcia M. Ward, Kimberly Merchant, Fred Ullrich, et al.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Research Center
view details
Provides an overview of the development of a common set of data elements to evaluate the Office of the Advancement of Teleheath's Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program, which aims to build an evidence base for telehealth in rural settings. Outlines 27 patient-level, encounter-level, and outcome data elements on patients who receive direct-to-consumer telehealth services and a comparable group of patients who receive in-person services. Describes data collection and management procedures.
Author(s): Marcia M. Ward, Kimberly Merchant, Fred Ullrich, et al.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Research Center
view details
Self-Collection for Primary HPV Testing: Perspectives on Implementation From Federally Qualified Health Centers
Analyzes feedback from clinical staff, administrative staff, and leadership in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) regarding the implementation of primary testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) by self-collection. Utilizes focus group and interview data from 6 North Carolina FQHCs about themes such as increased screening rates, accuracy of self-collection results, workflow disruptions, financial implications, impacts on clinic quality measures, and more. Includes feedback from rural FQHCs.
Author(s): Amanda Le, Catherine Rohweder, Stephanie B. Wheeler, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 10/2023
view details
Analyzes feedback from clinical staff, administrative staff, and leadership in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) regarding the implementation of primary testing for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) by self-collection. Utilizes focus group and interview data from 6 North Carolina FQHCs about themes such as increased screening rates, accuracy of self-collection results, workflow disruptions, financial implications, impacts on clinic quality measures, and more. Includes feedback from rural FQHCs.
Author(s): Amanda Le, Catherine Rohweder, Stephanie B. Wheeler, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 20
Date: 10/2023
view details