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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Demonstration Program: Report to Congress, 2021
Provides an overview of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration. Offers a summary of the findings from the prior annual reports on the CCBHC demonstration, a comparison of cost and quality in the first two demonstration years, and the results of impact analyses. This is the fifth annual report to Congress on the CCBHC demonstration.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Mathematica
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Fifth Evaluation Report: Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model Evaluation
Reports on changes to the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (NGACO) Model in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). Presents information on cumulative model-wide impacts on Medicare spending, utilization, and quality of care, as well as impacts observed in 2020, the model's fifth performance year. The appendices include data on community characteristics, including rurality.
Additional links: Technical Appendices
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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2022 Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Care in Medicare
Examines rural/urban differences in the quality of healthcare received by Medicare beneficiaries in 2021, with breakdowns by race and ethnicity. Focuses on patient experience and clinical care measures, including screening for and management of health conditions and medication-related issues.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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2022 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Provides a comprehensive summary and data analysis of healthcare quality and access in the U.S. Addresses access to healthcare, patient safety, person-centered care, care coordination, effective treatment, healthy living, and care affordability. Includes a discussion of rural hospital closures and the impact on the distance required to access selected healthcare services.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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A Global Equity Model (GEM) for the Advancement of Community Health and Health Equity
Provides an overview of existing and emerging payment systems and their roles in promoting community health and health equity. Proposes a global payment model for health systems' inpatient, emergency department (ED), and outpatient sites of care with community health and health equity as its organizing features. Includes information on the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, the ACO REACH model, and other rural-relevant payment models.
Author(s): Anaeze C. Offodile II, Jason B. Gibbons, Samantha Murrell, Donna Kinzer, Joshua M. Sharfstein
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Rethinking Rurality: Using Hospital Referral Regions to Investigate Rural-Urban Health Outcomes
Examines the relationship between the proportion of rural population served in each of the 306 hospital referral regions (HRRs) and health outcomes, healthcare spending and utilization, and access to and quality of primary care. Explores whether mortality differences in HRRs are associated with differences in price-adjusted Medicare reimbursements, quality of primary care, and access to primary care.
Author(s): Lucy Skinner, Sandra Wong, Carrie Colla
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1312
Date: 11/2022
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Medicare Program: Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Systems and Quality Reporting Programs; Organ Acquisition; Rural Emergency Hospitals: Payment Policies, Conditions of Participation, Provider Enrollment, Physician Self-Referral; New Service Category for Hospital Outpatient Department Prior Authorization Process; Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating; COVID-19
Establishes the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) provider type. Outlines REH payment policy, Conditions of Participation (CoPs), quality measures, and enrollment policy. Outlines changes to the Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) CoPs regarding location and distance requirements, patient's rights requirements, and flexibilities for CAHs that are part of a larger health system. Among other things, this rule also revises the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2023 and finalizes provisions included in the COVID-19 interim final rules.
Additional links: Fact Sheet
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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CY 2023 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule (CMS 1772-FC) Rural Emergency Hospitals — New Medicare Provider Type
Provides an overview of Rural Emergency Hospitals, a Medicare provider type established by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Details key policies outlined in the Calendar Year 2023 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Final Rule, including payment policies, conditions of participation, REH provider enrollment, and exceptions to the physician self-referral law.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Inequities in Access and Delivery of Acute Stroke Care: A Brain Attack Coalition Symposium Report
Presents findings from the Brain Attack Coalition's Inequities in Access and Delivery of Acute Stroke Care symposium. Identifies barriers to access and disparities in healthcare delivery, and discusses underserved populations, including people in rural areas, throughout. Provides recommendations on policy, research, and service delivery approaches to address inequities and improve stroke care delivery in EMS, acute and hyperacute, and inpatient settings.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Brain Attack Coalition (BAC), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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Technical Report of The Maryland Telehealth Study
Presents the results of a study examining the quality and cost of telehealth following its expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as impact on access to healthcare, alignment with other models of care, and provider and patient satisfaction with a focus on policy impacts in Maryland. Includes findings of a literature review, consumer interviews, behavioral healthcare organization focus groups, and a provider survey.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organizations: NORC at the University of Chicago, The Maryland Health Care Commission
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