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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

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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HIV Treatment Outcomes in Rural Georgia Using Telemedicine
Results of a study to compare the effectiveness of HIV care delivered through telemedicine (TM) with the face-to-face (F2F) model, based on chart reviews of a total of 385 Georgia patients who attended a TM clinic in Dublin or a F2F clinic in Augusta between May 2017 and April 2018. Features statistics with breakdowns including sex, age, race, and comorbidities.
Author(s): Folake J. Lawal, Moshood O. Omotayo, Tae Jin Lee, Arni S. R. Srinivasa Rao, Jose A. Vazquez
Citation: Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 8(6)
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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Partnership Forum: The Role of Research in the Transformation of Veterans Affairs Community Care
Discusses how research has shaped the Veterans Affairs' Office of Community Care since its inception in 2015. Highlights the effect research has had on care coordination, quality of care, and network adequacy, among other measures, for all veterans including those in rural areas.
Author(s): Michelle A. Mengeling, Kristin M. Mattocks, Denise M. Hynes, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59, (6, Suppl3), 232-241
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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Quality Time: Sharing PIE - Using "Small Data" to Drive Big Improvements
Podcast episode exploring how two Critical Access Hospital (CAH) leaders utilize data for quality improvement. Discusses how different kinds of data have informed quality improvement initiatives and considerations for analyzing data in low-volume contexts.
Date: 06/2021
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Interorganizational Care Coordination of Rural Veterans by Veterans Affairs and Community Care Programs: A Systematic Review
Details the findings of a systematic review of the efficacy of care coordination initiatives by Veterans Affairs (VA) to care for rural veterans. Distinguishes data from pre- and post-Veterans Choice Act and post-MISSION Act. Defines organizational policy and administration, culture, and mechanisms of community care programs, as well as relational practices, contextual factors, and third-party administrators.
Author(s): Lynn A. Garvin, Marianne Pugatch, Deborah Gurewich, et al.
Citation: Medical Care, 59, (6, Suppl3), 259-269
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
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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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Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating: Overview for Flex Programs and Rural Stakeholders
Provides an overview of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Overall Hospital Star Ratings posted on the CMS Care Compare website. Describes the methodology for the Overall Hospital Star Ratings, including information on measure selection, measure grouping, measure group scores and hospital scoring, and peer grouping and star rating assignment. Discusses the implications these ratings have on Critical Access Hospitals and other small rural hospitals.
Date: 05/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Health Equity Assessment Guide
Offers guidance to community partners in their efforts to advance health equity for populations impacted by racial and unconscious bias in rural communities. Identifies strategies and actions focused on collaborative decision-making, capacity and skill-building, and resident engagement in community health activities.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Partnership for Southern Equity
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April 2021 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) April 2021 meeting. Covers Medicare's skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program and proposed replacement, streamlining CMS's portfolio of alternative payment models, rebalancing the Medicare Advantage benchmark policy, revising Medicare's indirect medical education payments to better reflect teaching hospital costs, Medicare vaccine coverage and payment, and improving Medicare's policies for separately payable drugs in the hospital outpatient prospective payment system. Includes a discussion of training rural physicians, among other rural references.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Geographic Access to Health Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries in Five States: An Update
Describes the provider mix caring for rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in Alaska, Idaho, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington, using 2014 data. Examines the quality of care, number of annual visits, and the distances traveled for treatment of several conditions. Compares 2014 data with estimates from 1998, to assess the changes in geographical access to care. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural locations.
Date: 04/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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