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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Policy

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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Health Research on the U.S.-México Border: Promoting a Binational Agenda
Explores the relationship between research and policy development and the role they play in improving health along the U.S.-Mexico border. Outlines key considerations in the development of a binational border health research agenda including current gaps in border health research, and the need to translate research into policies and effective health interventions.
Date: 11/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: United States-México Border Health Commission
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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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Preparing the Interprofessional Healthcare Workforce to Address Health Behavior Change: Ensuring A High Quality and Cost-Effective Healthcare System
10th Annual Report to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Congress of the United States. Focuses on education and training needed to help the healthcare workforce promote positive health behaviors. Discusses task shifting to community members in rural areas such as the use of lay health workers, including promotoras and patient navigators.
Date: 09/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community-Based Linkages
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National Advisory Committee on Rural Health & Human Services Meeting Minutes, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 15-17th, 2010
Minutes from the 66th meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (NACRHHS). The meeting included discussions on childhood obesity in rural communities and the rural implications of accountable care organizations and payment bundling.
Date: 09/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010: Impacts on Rural People, Places, and Providers: A First Look
Summarizes six issue areas of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and discusses implications for access to services and improving the health status of rural residents. These issue areas are: health insurance coverage; Medicare and Medicaid payment; quality, financing, and delivery system reform; public health; healthcare workforce; and long-term care.
Author(s): Andrew F. Coburn, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, Timothy D. McBride, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 09/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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The Future of Family Medicine and Implications for Rural Primary Care Physician Supply
Examines the rural physician shortage, the effect of recent trends in specialty choice on provider supply, and major trends that are changing the dynamics that shape the delivery of healthcare. Identifies policy options that could help increase the number of rural family medicine physicians.
Additional links: Policy Brief, June 2009
Author(s): Roger A. Rosenblatt, Frederick M. Chen, Denise M. Lishner, Mark P. Doescher
Date: 08/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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The Medicare Physician Quality Reporting Initiative: Implications for Rural Physicians
Discusses the impact of rurality on office-based physicians' participation in the 2007 Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI), a voluntary pay-for-reporting program in Medicare.
Author(s): Alycia Infante, Michael Meit, Elizabeth Hargrave
Date: 08/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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Use of Emergency Departments for Conditions Related to Poor Oral Health Care
Reports findings from a study of seven states that looked at use of emergency departments to address oral health needs. Provides data for rural and urban areas and discusses the potential impacts of differences in state Medicaid policies.
Author(s): Emily F. Shortridge, Jonathan R. Moore
Date: 08/2010
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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