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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

The Association of Health Literacy and Blood Pressure Reduction in a Cohort of Patients with Hypertension: The Heart Healthy Lenoir Trial
Analyzes the impact of a multi-level quality improvement (QI) intervention, the Heart Healthy Lenoir (HHL) Study, with a focus on health literacy to improve systolic blood pressure (SBP) control in patients being treated in rural primary clinics of Eastern North Carolina. Discusses the components of the health literacy practice and patient level activities of the QI intervention. Offers a detailed table identifying the change in SBP by literacy level.
Author(s): Jacqueline R. Halladay, Katrina E. Donahue, Crystal W. Cené, et al.
Citation: Patient Education and Counseling, 100(3), 542-549
Date: 03/2017
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Madison County Memorial Hospital: Making the Most of FOA
Documents Madison County Memorial Hospital's (MCMH) successes from participating in the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project. Top accomplishments include improving relationships with the community and other providers, business office operations, leadership development, and transitions of care, as well as developing outpatient rehab services. MCMH is a 25-bed, nonprofit Critical Access Hospital located in Madison, Florida.
Date: 03/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Strategies for Superbugs: Antibiotic Stewardship for Rural Hospitals
Discusses the need for antibiotic stewardship (AS) and challenges rural hospitals face in implementing AS programs. Highlights efforts underway for a group of hospitals in Utah and at Critical Access Hospitals in Idaho and Utah.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2017
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Aiming for Fewer Hospital U-turns: The Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program
Describes the Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP), analyzes the impact of the program on Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare facilities, and highlights identified issues regarding its implementation. Tables and charts display differences in penalties incurred by urban and rural facilities, and include estimates for FY 2017.
Author(s): Cristina Boccuti, Giselle Casillas
Date: 03/2017
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Russell County Hospital Aligning for Future Success
Details the improvements made by Russell County Hospital (RCH), a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in Russell Springs, Kentucky, as part of the Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) project. Major accomplishments include expanding primary care and surgery services, developing a strategic plan, establishing and monitoring quality indicators, and optimizing participation in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. RCH is also working with the community and the media to promote their quality scores, which are consistently high.
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Getting Started with the Quality Payment Program: An Overview of MIPS for Small, Rural, and Underserved Practices
Provides a webinar recording discussing the effects of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) on small, rural, and underserved practices. Includes sections on eligibility, participation, reporting, performance categories, and submission and scoring methods. Outlines specific eligibility requirements for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), and provides a checklist for preparing and participating in MIPS.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript, Webinar Playlist by Section
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Hospital Compare Quality Measure Results for CAHs, 2015
Examines Hospital Compare data for calendar year 2015 and summarizes reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Charts and graphs allow comparison of overall reporting rates and performance for specific quality measures, and state-by-state comparison of CAH reporting rates for inpatient and outpatient measures.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Tami Swenson, Alex Evenson
Date: 02/2017
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Evaluation of Rural vs Urban Trauma Patients Served by 9-1-1 Emergency Medical Services
Evaluates differences in rural and urban emergency medical services (EMS) using injury severity, care process, and mortality among injured patients based on data from rural and urban Oregon and Washington. Addresses distance to trauma centers, EMS structures, timing of death, and other factors.
Author(s): Craig D. Newgard, Rongwei Fu, Eileen Bulger, et al.
Citation: JAMA Surgery, 152(1), 11-18
Date: 01/2017
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Patients' Experiences in CAHs: HCAHPS Results, 2015
Results from the calendar year 2015 Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, summarizing reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Includes detailed tables that allow state-by-state comparison of response rates and overall CAH performance, as well as links to specific state reports.
Author(s): Michelle Casey, Tami Swenson, Alex Evenson
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Accounting for Social Risk Factors in Medicare Payment
Fifth and final report in a series designed to identify social risk factors that affect the health outcomes of Medicare beneficiaries and methods to account for these factors in Medicare payment programs. Offers thoughts about selecting the best methods to account for social risk factors and achieve policy goals. Chapter 2 includes a discussion about urbanicity and rurality, and suggests that a beneficiary's place of residence is a stronger indicator of social risk than their provider's location. Report was assembled by an ad hoc committee under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation.
Author(s): Committee on Accounting for Socioeconomic Status in Medicare Payment Programs
Date: 01/2017
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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