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Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Quality Improvement Implementation Guide and Toolkit for Critical Access Hospitals
A guide for Critical Access Hospitals to help them navigate the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) and find ways to support quality improvement in their facilities. Includes ways to organize quality improvement programs, what to focus on, federal program examples, and info-graphics.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stratis Health
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Leapfrog Never Events Report 2019
Examines hospital adherence to Leapfrog's Never Events Policy, which asks hospitals to commit to 9 actions if a "never event" happens, defined as one of 29 serious reportable events that should never happen listed by the National Quality Forum. Identifies rural/urban hospital performance on the initial 5 actions and expanded 9 Never Events Policy actions for 2014-2018.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Leapfrog Group
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Systemic Overuse of Health Care in a Commercially Insured US Population, 2010-2015
Examines geographic variation in systemic overuse of health care, using commercial insurance claims data from 375 metropolitan areas and 47 rural regions. Features statistics with breakdowns by overuse indicators, and U.S. maps showing regional variations in overuse.
Author(s): Allison H. Oakes, Hsien-Yen Chang, Jodi B. Segal
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 19, 280
Date: 2019
Type: Document
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State Innovation Models (SIM) Round 2: Model Test Annual Report Three
Third annual 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. Addresses the adoption of delivery models and payment reforms related to value-based payment (VBP) and alternative payment models (APMs). Offers an update and lessons learned on strategies to support healthcare delivery transformation related to behavioral health integration, data for improving health care quality and performance, health information technology, care coordination, and workforce development. Describes states' population health activities. Includes discussion of rural issues throughout the report.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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Achieving Behavioral Health Equity for Children, Families, and Communities: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summarizes findings from a November 2017 workshop focused on exploring health equity in children and families. Chapter 4 includes discussion on healthcare quality and access for behavioral health services in rural communities. Offers suggestions for initiatives, policies, and programs to support behavioral health promotion, access behavioral health services, and improve the social determinants of health.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Sarah Tracey, Erin Kellogg, Clarissa Sanchez, Wendy Keenan
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Perspectives of Physicians in Small Rural Practices on the Medicare Quality Payment Program
Provides feedback from small, rural practices on the implementation of Medicare's Quality Payment Program (QPP), which includes the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs). Identifies challenges rural physicians face and offers recommendations to help more small practices participate in the program.
Author(s): Peter Mendel, Christine Buttorff, Peggy G. Chen, et al.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, RAND Corporation
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Assessing the Unintended Consequences of Health Policy on Rural Populations and Places
Explores health policies that have affected, or could potentially have affected, rural people, places, and providers, in ways that ran counter to policy intent. Examines 6 historical health policies and their effect on rural health systems. Includes a framework for analyzing policy impact on rural populations and places.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Charlie Alfero, Andrew F. Coburn, et al.
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Practice Rurality of Family Physicians Enrolled in a Practice Transformation Network
An analysis of the enrollment of small and rural practices in the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI), supporting nationwide, collaborative and peer-based learning, to determine if a greater proportion of rural practices are enrolled in Practice Transformation Networks (PTNs) than are found among non-enrolled practices. In addition, the analysis includes the enrollment of family physicians across states and PTNs. Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA, version 2.0) codes were used to determine rurality. TCPI enrollment variation within rural practices is discussed.
Author(s): Robert L. Phillips, Elizabeth M. Bishop, Lars E. Peterson, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 31(6), 952-956
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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Motivators, Barriers, and Facilitators to Traveling to the Safest Hospitals in the United States for Complex Cancer Surgery
Results of a nationally representative survey conducted in January 2018, in which 1,016 adults were asked what factors they would consider when deciding whether to seek cancer treatment at their local hospital or at a specialized facility an hour or more away from their home. Table 1 features demographic information including breakdowns by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan residence.
Author(s): Benjamin J. Resio, Alexander S. Chiu, Jessica R. Hoag, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 1(7)
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
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Predictive Analytics Shape Care Processes
Reports on an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model in Maine that uses a predictive analytics platform in conjunction with Maine's statewide health information exchange (HIE) to prescribe care management interventions based on patient risk. Describes the predictive analytics system, discusses how the ACO is using it to manage care, and highlights future plans, such as targeting patients hospitalized for an opioid overdose and integrating social determinants of health data.
Date: 11/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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