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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Private Well Testing in Oregon from Real Estate Transactions: An Innovative Approach Toward a State-Based Surveillance System
Examines health problems caused by well water contaminants and reports increased risks in rural areas due to agricultural fertilizer use, feedlot operations, leaking septic systems, and aboveground application of wastewater. Compares Oregon's and New Jersey's laws concerning well testing and includes Oregon maps showing locations of private wells with high and moderate nitrate levels and evidence of coliform bacteria.
Author(s): Brenda O. Hoppe, Anna K. Harding, Jennifer Staab, Marina Counter
Citation: Public Health Reports, 126(1)
Date: 01/2011
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Home Health Study Report: Literature Review
Presents a literature search which was used as a background to aid the development of a study and report on potential revisions to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS). Report includes rural populations.
Author(s): Judy Goldberg Dey, Margaret Johnson, William Pajerowski, Myra Tanamor, Alyson Ward
Date: 01/2011
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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MedPAC Report to Congress: Regional Variation in Medicare Service Use
Presents data on regional variations in Medicare spending and Medicare-covered service use, including for nonmetropolitan areas. Data used was adjusted to account for differences in small rural hospital and Critical Access Hospital Medicare payment rates.
Date: 01/2011
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Rural Veterans: Invisible Heroes, Special People, Special Issues
Introduces a thematic issue focused on the healthcare needs and the health status of rural veterans.
Author(s): Hilda R. Heady
Citation: Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 26(3), 1-13
Date: 2011
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White House Rural Council: Feedback from Rural America
Provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities rural Americans voiced during the White House Rural Council's visits to rural communities during the Obama administration.
Date: 2011
Sponsoring organization: White House Rural Council (Obama Administration)
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Iowa Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety Resource Plan, 2011
Presents the Iowa Department of Public Health strategic plan, including a rural health care resource plan. Discusses rural facts, access to health services, agricultural health and safety, and rural health workforce and information technology implications.
Date: 2011
Sponsoring organization: Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
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COGME Twentieth Report: Advancing Primary Care
Makes recommendations related to the ideal number of primary care physicians, primary care physician reimbursement, financial aid programs, as well as physician education and distribution. Addresses rural and underserved areas, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), and community health centers (CHCs).
Author(s): Jerry Kruse, Mark Kelley, Tom Keane, et al.
Date: 12/2010
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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State Perspectives Discussion Paper on Development of Community Paramedic Programs
Summarizes the status of community paramedicine programs in 2010 and presents a synopsis of some of the opportunities and challenges state EMS offices will face as these programs are contemplated in local communities.
Date: 12/2010
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State EMS Officials
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Securing High Quality Health Care in Rural America: The Impetus for Change in the Affordable Care Act
Analyzes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's call for the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan, or National Quality Strategy, that will affect healthcare for millions of rural Americans and thousands of rural healthcare providers. Works to answer the question, "What rural considerations should be addressed in a National Quality Strategy?"
Author(s): A. Clinton MacKinney, Jennifer P. Lundblad, Andrew F. Coburn, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 12/2010
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Telecommunications: FCC's Performance Management Weaknesses Could Jeopardize Proposed Reforms of the Rural Health Care Program
Evaluates the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) management of the Rural Health Care Program. Focuses on how well the program is addressing the needs of rural healthcare providers, the impact of the FCC's pilot program design and implementation, and the FCC's performance goals and measures.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 11/2010
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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