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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

VA Health Care: Efforts to Prioritize and Translate Research into Clinical Practice
Examines how the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sets priorities for funding research, VA efforts to facilitate translation of research into clinical practice, and coordination between VA's research program and other parts of the VA. Briefly highlights a research study on the use of telemedicine outreach for rural veterans with PTSD.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Alternative Drinking Water Systems: Use by Very Small Communities, Related Cost Savings, and Technical Assistance Provided by EPA and USDA
Provides an overview of 5 alternative drinking water systems used by communities with fewer than 500 people and the barriers to implementing new systems and technologies in small communities. Describes factors that influence the costs and cost-savings of alternative drinking water systems. Identifies 4 federal funding programs that support technical assistance and training for small drinking water systems serving communities of fewer than 10,000 people.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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State Telehealth Medicaid Fee-For-Service Policy: A Historical Analysis of Telehealth: 2013-2019
Examines national and state-by-state trends in Medicaid fee-for-service policies regarding telehealth between 2013-2019. Highlights changes in expanded telehealth and telemedicine definitions, modalities that are reimbursed, and geographic limitations. Provides graphs and national maps throughout to supplement reported trends.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Connected Health Policy: The National Telehealth Policy Resource Center
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Challenges in Providing Substance Use Disorder Treatment to Child Welfare Clients in Rural Communities
Provides an overview of the unique challenges rural communities face serving parents with substance abuse issues, including provider shortages, limited access to health insurance, transportation and technological barriers, and lack of routine cross-systems collaboration with the child welfare system. Offers strategies to overcome these challenges in rural communities.
Author(s): Elizabeth Clary, Christina Ribar, Elizabeth Weigensberg
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Mathematica
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Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in Pennsylvania
Presents an overview of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Pennsylvania. Highlights specific issues in rural areas and compares rural and urban areas in the state. Details conclusions and makes policy recommendations.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sarah A. Font, Sheridan Miyamoto, Casey N. Pinto
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Second Evaluation Report: Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model Evaluation
Reports on the impact of the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization model in 2016 and 2017, with information on the full sample of 46 participating NGACOs. Provides information on the models' impact on gross and net Medicare spending. The appendices include data on community characteristics, including rurality.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance, Technical Appendices
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Public Transportation: Enhanced Federal Information Sharing on Coordination Could Improve Rural Transit Services
Report details the Federal Transit Administration's (FTA) efforts in improving rural public transit coordination and identifies areas for improvement. Highlights some of the challenges affecting the FTA's ability to effectively coordinate transportation for rural and tribal areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Update of Evaluation of California's Community Paramedicine Pilot Program
Updates the evaluation of the California Emergency Medical Services Authority pilot community paramedicine program, which began in 2014 to test 7 community paramedicine concepts and has involved 14 communities, including rural Butte county. Provides an overview of the projects, summarizes how the community paramedics were trained, reports on the patients served and program effectiveness, and discusses potential savings for Medi-Cal and Medicare.
Author(s): Janet M. Coffman, Lisel Blash, Ginachukwu Amah
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Healthforce Center at UCSF, Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies
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White Paper on Telehealth in the Rural American West
Describes issues of healthcare access for rural communities in the American West and ways that telehealth can address disparities in access and health conditions for rural and underserved populations. Offers an overview of telehealth technology, policy, barriers to implementation, and recommendations.
Author(s): Bruce E. Cain
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Stanford Bill Lane Center for the American West
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Striving for Birth Equity: Family Medicine's Role in Overcoming Disparities in Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
Policy position paper examining disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality, and offering recommendations for ways in which family physicians, educators, and policy makers can facilitate and advocate for change. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Academy of Family Physicians
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