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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

Prevention and Health Promotion among Vulnerable Populations on the U.S.-México Border: Synthesis Report
Summarizes the findings from six regional United States–Mexico Border Health Commission stakeholder planning meetings organized by the New Mexico Department of Health Office of Border Health and the California Department of Public Health Office of Binational Border Health. The objective of these meetings was to collect information from agencies and organizations that provide health and human services, and/or advocate for improving access to these services for at risk populations on the U.S. side of the U.S.–Mexico border region.
Date: 10/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United States-México Border Health Commission
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services Meeting Summary, Bozeman, Montana, September 4-6, 2013
Provides a summary of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services meeting. Discusses rural health in Montana, along with rural outreach, enrollment and education for the health insurance market places of the Affordable Care Act, and the intersection of poverty and human service delivery in rural areas.
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Compacts of Free Association: Micronesia and the Marshall Islands Continue to Face Challenges Measuring Progress and Ensuring Accountability
Discusses Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands spending of compact sector funds in the education and health sectors. Offers recommendations to ensure the reliability of indicators in education and health.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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GME in the United States: A Review of State Initiatives
Reports results from a study examining what states are doing to address issues affecting the physician workforce, including shortages in rural areas. Report introduces maps and charts showing demographics and healthcare workforce data by state.
Author(s): Julie C. Spero, Erin P. Fraher, Thomas C. Ricketts, Paul H. Rockey
Date: 09/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Provision of Uncompensated Care by Rural Hospitals: A Preliminary Look at Medicare Cost Report Worksheet S-10
Conducts a preliminary assessment of the quality of uncompensated care data included in Medicare Cost Report Worksheet S-10 for rural hospitals and identifies the implications of data quality issues for research and policy decisions. Addresses differences between Critical Access Hospitals and other rural hospitals.
Author(s): Caroline Crews, Kristin L. Reiter, Randy Randolph, G Mark Holmes, George H Pink
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Rural Health Research Program
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Twenty-First Report: Improving Value in Graduate Medical Education
Recommends changes in graduate medical education that will improve the value of physician training. Includes increasing funding for new residency programs, and funding training programs within regions with lower per capita supplies of physicians.
Author(s): David Reines, Kenneth Shine, Gamini S. Sooriyaarachchi, et al.
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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Redesigning Health Professions Education and Practice to Prepare the Interprofessional Team to Care for Populations
12th Annual Report to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Congress of the United States. Discusses the need to educate healthcare professionals to care for diverse needs including culture, language, economic status, cultural competency, and health disparities. Discusses the importance of telehealth and telemedicine in population health in rural areas and for those with unstable health conditions that require close monitoring by a health professional.
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community-Based Linkages
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Rural Implications of Changes to the Medicare Hospice Benefit
Policy brief highlights an April 2013 meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado, of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. Presents the committee's recommendations and analyses of ACA provisions which may have rural implications regarding challenges and innovations in hospice and palliative care in rural and frontier areas.
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Causes and Consequences of Rural Pharmacy Closures: A Multi-Case Study
Identifies factors that contributed to the closing of 6 rural pharmacies in different states. Describes how the affected communities adapted to losing locally based services.
Author(s): Kelli Todd, Katie Westfall, Bill Doucette, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Most Critical Access Hospitals Would Not Meet the Location Requirements if Required to Re-Enroll in Medicare
Recommends that CMS seek legislative authority to remove the permanent distance exemption for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) that currently have Necessary Provider designations.
Date: 08/2013
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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