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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

Lower Health Care Costs Act
Recording of a U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing on the Lower Health Care Costs Act, which covers access to healthcare, surprise medical bills, market competition, drug prices, and other issues. Includes testimony from an organization that works primarily with small and rural practices, the American Hospital Association, American Enterprise Institute, and others.
Additional links: Benedic N. Ippolito Testimony, Sean Cavanaugh Testimony, Tom Nickels Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Report to Congress on Medicaid and CHIP, June 2019
Semi-annual report to Congress from the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). Addresses the Medicaid Prescription Drug Program and Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to safety-net hospitals, therapeutic foster care coverage, state efforts to improve Medicaid integrity, and challenges facing Medicaid in Puerto Rico.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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Investing in America's Health Care
Recording of a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on a wide variety of healthcare bills addressing funding for community health centers, teaching health centers, the National Health Service Corps, a tribal diabetes program, the National Quality Forum, Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, and more. Includes testimony from Shasta Community Health Center, Vidant Health, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, Medicare Rights Center, and others.
Additional links: C. Dean Germano Testimony, Diana Autin Testimony, Fred Riccardi Testimony, Michael Waldrum Testimony, Thomas Barker Testimony
Date: 06/2019
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
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Analysis of Oral Dietary Supplement Use in Rural Older Adults
Interviewed 138 rural older Nebraskan adults using at least 3 prescribed medications to determine associations with oral dietary supplement (ODS) use. Discusses implications of ODS use alongside prescription medication as well as rural-specific reasons for ODS use.
Author(s): Marcia Y. Shade, Matthew Witry, Katie Robinson, Kevin Kupzyk
Citation: Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(9-10), 1600-1606
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
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Leveraging Medicaid Financing and Coverage Benefits to Deliver PrEP Intervention Services
Shows how stakeholders in Medicaid agencies, Medicaid managed care organizations, and public health departments can identify barriers to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and clinical services, in an effort to prevent HIV. Includes a section on provision of PrEP through Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Centers, and through telehealth.
Author(s): Naomi Seiler
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: AcademyHealth
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Regional and Rural–Urban Variation in Opioid Prescribing in the Veterans Health Administration
Examines geographic variation in opioid prescribing patterns at Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities, including by region and for rural and urban veterans. Addresses opioids prescribed per capita, prescription incidence, length of use, and prevalence of use. Includes a chart showing rural/urban per capita prescriptions over time.
Author(s): Brian C. Lund, Michael E. Ohl, Katherine Hadlandsmyth, Hilary J. Mosher
Citation: Military Medicine
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
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Pain Management for People with Serious Illness in the Context of the Opioid Use Disorder Epidemic: Proceedings of a Workshop
Reports on a workshop with multiple stakeholders discussing pain management in the context of the opioid misuse epidemic. Reviews the opioid epidemic, how responses to it have affected people with serious illness and pain, the pain management needs of people with substance use disorder, policy responses, and next steps. Includes a few examples from rural areas and addresses some challenges specific to rural.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 05/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Race-Specific Patterns of Treatment Intensification Among Hypertensive Patients Using Home Blood Pressure Monitoring: Analysis Using Defined Daily Doses in the Heart Healthy Lenoir Study
Presents the results of a cohort study to compare racial disparities in blood pressure control with a focus on identifying any racial differences in antihypertensive medication intensification (AMI). Participants in the study included 217 adult patients (57% Black and 66% women) from six rural primary care practices and who engage in home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) and documentation.
Author(s): Doyle M. Cummings, Alyssa Adams, Jacquie Halladay, et al.
Citation: Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 53(4), 333-340
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
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Community Pharmacies as Access Points for Addiction Treatment
Investigates the distribution of community pharmacies in rural and urban counties of Wisconsin and the connection it has on county-level opioid-related overdose death rates and the number of treatment facilities.
Author(s): Kevin A. Look, Mercedes Kile, Katie Morgan, Andrew Roberts
Citation: Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy, 15(4), 404-409
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
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Buprenorphine Prescribing by Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and Physicians After CARA 2016
Investigates the differences in buprenorphine prescribing patterns among nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs) and physicians in Medicaid following implementation of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) addressing opioid use disorder (OUD). Retail pharmacy claims from July 2017 to June 2018 were analyzed to identify prescriber type, number of patients, payer type, rural and urban differences, and Medicaid trends for FDA-approved buprenorphine drugs for the treatment of OUD.
Author(s): Rekha Varghese, Karin Johnson, Bo Feng, et al.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: IMPAQ International, LLC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
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