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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

The Use of Telemedicine to Address Access and Physician Workforce Shortages
Policy statement discussing opportunities to use telemedicine technologies to address pediatric workforce shortages in rural and urban settings. Offers information on improving access to care, physician capacity, quality of care, and costs of care.
Author(s): James P. Marcin, Mary E. Rimsza, William B. Moskowitz
Citation: Pediatrics, 136(1), 202-209
Date: 07/2015
Sponsoring organization: American Academy of Pediatrics
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A Participatory Regional Partnership Approach to Promote Nutrition and Physical Activity Through Environmental and Policy Change in Rural Missouri
A case study of Healthier Missouri Communities (Healthier MO), a community-based research project in 12 counties in rural southeast Missouri. Describes a group process to identify and select promising evidence-based interventions to promote nutrition and physical activity.
Author(s): Ellen K. Barnidge, Elizabeth A. Baker, Amy Estlund, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 12
Date: 06/2015
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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
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Healthy Border 2020: A Prevention & Health Promotion Initiative
Reports on the prevailing public health issues occurring in U.S.-Mexico border populations. Identifies an agenda focused on health promotion and disease prevention, and develops a strategy for implementing a coordinated public health response at binational, state and local levels.
Date: 06/2015
Sponsoring organization: United States-México Border Health Commission
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Charity Care and Uncompensated Care Activities of Tax-Exempt Critical Access Hospitals
Analyzes charity care, uncompensated care, and bad debt activities of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) compared with other rural non-CAH and urban hospitals. Discusses the implications of ACA-mandated hospital financial assistance, emergency care, and billing and collection policies for CAHs.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): John Gale, Jamar Croom, Zachariah Croll, Andrew Coburn
Date: 06/2015
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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The Transformation of Behavioral Health in New Mexico
Provides an in-depth look at public-sector behavioral healthcare in New Mexico by examining how decisions made at the system level influence the implementation of initiatives by the service providers, and how changes at the gubernatorial level can affect implementation efforts. Discusses findings in relation to efforts made to promote and establish medical home models under the Affordable Care Act.
Author(s): Cathleen E. Willging, Louise Lamphere, Barbara Rylko-Bauer
Citation: Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 42(3), 343-355
Date: 05/2015
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Report to Congress: Overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program
Provides a general overview of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, including eligibility criteria for hospitals and providers, analysis of the program's financial impact, and a summary of the debate over the program's importance, especially to rural and underserved communities.
Date: 05/2015
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Graduate Medical Education Financing: Sustaining Medical Education in Rural Places
A policy brief reporting on the financial situation of rural training track (RTT) residency programs, including their sources of funding, expenses, and the relationship between urban RTT sponsors and rural program sites.
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, David Schmitz, Randall Longenecker, David Squire, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 05/2015
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Urban vs. Rural Differences in Prescription Opioid Misuse among Adults in the United States: Informing Region Specific Drug Policies and Interventions
A study analyzing data from the 2011 and 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health discussing the rural/urban differences in prescription opioid misuse.
Author(s): Khary K. Rigg, Shannon M. Monnat
Citation: International Journal of Drug Policy, 26(5), 484–491
Date: 05/2015
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Statement by George Stover, Rice County Hospital District 1, before the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Covers testimony presented at a May 7, 2015 Labor-Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing on rural health from George Stover, the chief executive officer for the Hospital District #1 of Rice County in Lyons, Kansas. Discusses regulatory and reimbursement challenges facing Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Author(s): George Stover
Date: 05/2015
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Appropriations
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