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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Pharmacy and prescription drugs

A Federally Qualified Health Center and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership in Rural Missouri
Case study describing a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program partnership between a Federally Qualified Health Center and a certified community behavioral health clinic in rural southwest Missouri. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers interested in a similar partnership.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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El Dorado Community Health Centers: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Rural California through Community Partnerships
Case study describing how El Dorado Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in California, works with a community coalition to address the opioid epidemic and implement a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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January 2024 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2024 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, outpatient dialysis services, hospice services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, and inpatient rehabilitation facility services. Discusses status reports on ambulatory surgical centers, Medicare Part D, and the Medicare Advantage program, as well as policy options for standardized benefits in Medicare Advantage plans. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Assessing Payment Adequacy and Updating Payments: Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Services
Date: 01/2024
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Mississippi State Department of Health 2024 Annual Report
Offers overview of public health indicators for residents of the state of Mississippi including mortality, teen birth rates, various health conditions, and vaccination. Discusses regulation and legislative changes, pharmaceutical programs, lab services, public health outreach, rural health and primary care, Health Professional Shortage Areas, and administrative updates.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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340B Discount Drug Program Reform Policy Principles
Policy position paper on the 340B program. Explores ways in which the program benefits rural health systems and patients, and the impact of restrictions by drug manufacturers on rural safety net providers .
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Defining and Evaluating In-Home Drug Disposal Systems for Opioid Analgesics: Proceedings of a Workshop
Offers summary of a June 2023 workshop to analyze in-home drug disposal systems with focus on unused opioid analgesics. Discusses the life cycle of prescribed opioids, characteristics of in-home disposal systems, implementation and equity concerns, legal concerns, environmental impacts, and real-world settings. Includes discussions of tribal and rural-specific challenges and benefits.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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High-Risk Individuals and Naloxone Use: Implications for THN Programs in Rural Appalachian Communities
Presents thematic analysis of factors influencing opioid overdose and naloxone use from interviews with 16 people who use opioid drugs in 4 rural, Appalachian Pennsylvania counties. Identifies opioid overdose risk factors, including substance use habits, as well as factors facilitating or preventing effective naloxone interventions. Covers naloxone access and knowledge, experiences, attitudes toward first responders, and disconnects between naloxone intervention and opioid dependence treatment.
Author(s): Victor Garcia, Lisa McCann, Erick Lauber, et al.
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 5(3), 9-21
Date: 12/2023
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Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Community Pharmacies: A Protocol for a Stepped Wedge Randomized Clinical Trial
Evaluates implementation strategies of rural-located pharmacies looking to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in their communities. Describes how the study will examine intervention fidelity, effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, adoption, reach, and cost.
Author(s): Geoffrey Curran, Cynthia Mosley, Abigail Gamble, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science, 18, 72
Date: 12/2023
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2023 Rural-Urban Disparities in Health Care in Medicare
Examines rural/urban differences in the quality of healthcare received by Medicare beneficiaries in 2022, with breakdowns by race and ethnicity. Focuses on patient experience and clinical care measures, including screening for and management of health conditions, medication-related issues, and access to and availability of care.
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RAND Corporation
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Pharmaceuticalization of Obesity: Empirical Analysis of Metro and Nonmetro Populations, Cognitions and Behavior
Examines perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral intentions related to obesity medications in metro and nonmetro areas. Utilizes 2023 data from Kaiser Family Foundation's Health Tracking Poll to analyze weight loss drug prescriptions across demographic groups.
Author(s): Adee Athiyaman
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs
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