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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Healthcare quality

Securing High Quality Health Care in Rural America: The Impetus for Change in the Affordable Care Act
Analyzes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's call for the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan, or National Quality Strategy, that will affect healthcare for millions of rural Americans and thousands of rural healthcare providers. Works to answer the question, "What rural considerations should be addressed in a National Quality Strategy?"
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney, Jennifer P. Lundblad, Andrew F. Coburn, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Geographic Differences in Potentially Preventable Readmission Rates in Rural and Urban Hospitals
Presents results from a study that estimated potentially preventable hospital readmissions (PPRs) in three types of acute care hospitals: urban prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, rural PPS hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Focuses on rural/urban differences and whether patient demographics or health condition severity affects PPR rates.
Author(s): Marilyn G. Klug, Alana Knudson, Kyle Muus
Date: 11/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: Impacts on Rural People, Places, and Providers: A First Look
Summarizes six issue areas of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and discusses implications for access to services and improving the health status of rural residents. These issue areas are: health insurance coverage; Medicare and Medicaid payment; quality, financing, and delivery system reform; public health; healthcare workforce; and long-term care.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 09/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative: Implications for Rural Physicians
Discusses the impact of rurality on office-based physicians' participation in the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), a voluntary pay-for-reporting program in Medicare.
Author(s): Alycia Infante, Michael Meit, Elizabeth Hargrave
Date: 08/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Patient Assessments and Quality of Care in Rural Hospitals
Analyzes the relationships between rural patients' perspectives of hospital quality of care and key hospital characteristics that may influence patients' experiences of hospital care. Includes some breakdowns for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Uses data from the Consumer Assessment of Health Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Michelle M. Casey, Gestur Davidson
Date: 06/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
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MedPAC Report to Congress: Aligning Incentives in Medicare, June 2010
Focuses on how incentives in the Medicare program can be leveraged to promote healthcare quality and efficient use of resources, both of which are key elements of a high-value healthcare delivery system. Includes chapters focused on graduate medical education financing and inpatient psychiatric care.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: A Summary of Provisions Important to Rural Health Care Delivery
Summarizes the legislative provisions contained in P.L. 111-148, the Patient Protection and Affordability Act (PPACA) of 2010, that have significance for rural residents regarding the delivery of healthcare services in rural areas.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller
Date: 06/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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A Case Study of Developments in Rural Health in Difficult Economic Times: Nemaha County, Nebraska
Shows how health care providers and others in Nemaha County, Nebraska fared during an economic downturn, covering impacts related to access to care, escalating health care costs, and gaps in quality.
Author(s): Anh Nguyen, Kelly Shaw-Sutherland, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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A Case Study of Developments in Rural Health in Difficult Economic Times: Walthall County, Mississippi
Shows how health care providers and others in Walthall County, Mississippi fared during an economic downturn, covering impacts related to access to care, escalating health care costs, and gaps in quality.
Author(s): Anh Nguyen, Kelly Shaw-Sutherland, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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A Case Study of Developments in Rural Health in Difficult Economic Times: Leake County, Mississippi
Shows how health care providers and others in Leake County, Mississippi fared during an economic downturn, covering impacts related to access to care, escalating health care costs, and gaps in quality.
Author(s): Kelly Shaw-Sutherland, Anh Nguyen, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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