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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2016
Includes chapters on pricing and payment systems, Medicare drug spending, Part B drug and oncology payment policy issues, improving Part D, improving efficiency and preserving access to emergency care in rural areas, telehealth services and Medicare, and issues affecting dual-eligible beneficiaries. Rural providers and rural patient populations are discussed throughout the report.
Date: 06/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Prescription Opioid Use: Patient Characteristics and Misuse in Community Pharmacy
Highlights a study on prescription opioid use in both rural and urban communities in southwestern Pennsylvania. Analyzes data from an anonymous survey about opioid usage by type of drug and participant characteristics, such as age, gender, and education, among others.
Author(s): Gerald Cochran, Jennifer L. Bacci, Thomas Ylioja, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 56(3), 248-256
Date: 05/2016
Type: Document
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Connection Between Depression and Inability to Fill Prescriptions in Rural FQHC Patients with Chronic Disease
Examines rates of depression among 438 patients with hypertension or diabetes at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in the rural South. Also explores whether inability to afford prescription medicines within the previous 12 months is a predictor of depression in these patients. Includes statistics with breakdowns by race or ethnicity, gender, education, employment status, income, chronic condition, and history of mental illness.
Author(s): K. Bryant Smalley, Jacob C. Warren, K. Nikki Barefoot
Citation: Rural Mental Health, 40(2), 113-123
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
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Improving the Care of Dual Eligible Patients in Rural Federally Qualified Health Centers: The Impact of Care Coordinators and Clinical Pharmacists
Discusses a care coordination project that included 3 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and 502 patients in rural West Virginia and a tertiary care referral hospital in southern West Virginia to determine if expanded use of care coordinators and clinical pharmacists could improve the care experience and healthcare outcome of dual eligible patients.
Author(s): Daniel Doyle, Mary Emmett, Amber Crist, Craig Robinson, Michael Grome
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 7(2) 118-121
Date: 04/2016
Type: Document
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Evaluation of the Shared Decision Making (SDM) & Medication Management (MM) Health Care Innovation Awardees: Second Annual Report
Evaluations of 9 Health Care Innovation Awards Round One projects focused on implementing shared decision making or medication management programs. Provides findings across projects as well as profiles of each project. Includes medication management projects focused on rural areas.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Acumen, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2016
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Discussions of rural aspects of Medicare payment policies are included throughout the report. Focuses on payment adequacy, Medicare Advantage, and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Benefiting Hospitals, Not Patients: An Analysis of Charity Care Provided by Hospitals Enrolled in the 340B Discount Program
Examines charity care levels at 340B Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSHs) to determine if eligibility criteria for DSH hospitals appropriately align with the 340B programs goal of supporting access to prescription drugs for uninsured and vulnerable populations. Appendix provides additional information and operating statistics specific to Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Date: 2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B
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Rural and Urban Differences in Choice of and Satisfaction with Medicare Part D Plans
Examines how drug plan selection experiences and satisfaction levels differ for rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries. Includes breakdowns by three locations types, considerations in choosing plans, and percentage of people who felt satisfied and confident in their coverage.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Heidi O'Connor, Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Differences in Part D Plans Offered to Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries
Analyzes how Medicare Part D plan options differ for rural and urban residents in terms of premiums, deductibles, and copayments, as well as differences in plan options within more-densely and less-densely populated rural areas. Includes statistical breakdowns by three location types, number of available plans, average premiums, deductible amounts, and average co-pays.
Author(s): Heidi O'Connor, Carrie Henning-Smith, Michelle Casey, Ira Moscovice
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2015
Includes chapters on coordinating Medicare policy across payment models, Part B drug payment policy, value-based incentives for managing Part B drug use, multiple drug use including opioids among Medicare Part D enrollees, hospital short-stays, and new methods of measuring quality of care. Rural hospitals, rural referral centers, and rural patient populations are discussed throughout this report.
Date: 06/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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