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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Rural Health Clinics

Encouraging Rural Health Clinics to Provide Mental Health Services: What are the Options?
Examines changes in the delivery of mental health services by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), their operational characteristics, barriers to the development of services, and policy options to encourage more RHCs to deliver mental health services.
Author(s): John Gale, David Hartley, Barbara Shaw, Stephanie Loux
Date: 05/2010
Sponsoring organization: Maine Rural Health Research Center
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Medicare and Medicaid Participating Facilities: CMS Needs to Reexamine Its Approach for Funding State Oversight of Health Care Facilities
Evaluates the federal funding of state healthcare facility surveys, including surveys of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Analyzes funding, state workloads, and federal oversight of states' use of funds.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 02/2009
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Partnering to Achieve Rural Emergency Preparedness: A Workbook for Healthcare Providers in Rural Communities
Provides a tool to help Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), community health centers, migrant health centers, and hospitals develop effective community emergency preparedness plans. Encourages a collaborative approach with coordination between community leaders and healthcare facilities.
Author(s): Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health
Date: 2007
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Health Professional Shortage Areas: Problems Remain With Primary Care Shortage Area Designation System
Reviews the number and location of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and federal programs that use HPSA designations to allocate resources or provide benefits. Discusses available research on HPSA designation criteria and methodology. Addresses the impact of a 2002 provision that automatically designates Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and certain Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) as facility HPSAs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2006
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Comparison of the Rural Health Clinic and Federally Qualified Health Center Programs
Provides a general comparison of the financial components of the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) programs under Medicare and Medicaid.
Date: 06/2006
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Status of the Rural Health Clinic Program
Office of Inspector General report discussing the location status of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes statistics on the number of RHCs in locations that do not have current shortage designations and RHCs in areas no longer considered rural. Includes historical overview of the RHC location requirements and recommendations for improvement.
Date: 08/2005
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Health Centers and Rural Clinics: State and Federal Implementation Issues for Medicaid's New Payment System
Reviews states' implementation of the prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicaid payments to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Includes recommendations for CMS on guidance and oversight for states.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 06/2005
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Scope of Services Offered by Critical Access Hospitals: Results of the 2004 National CAH Survey
Examines how Critical Access Hospital (CAH) services have changed over time, based on 2000, 2002, and 2004 survey data. Discusses the role of network affiliations in service changes and reasons for reported service expansions.
Author(s): David Hartley, Stephenie Loux
Date: 03/2005
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Starting a Rural Health Clinic: A How-To Manual
Detailed guide describing the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) program. Includes instructions on how to determine eligibility and financial feasibility of RHC status and how to apply to become an RHC. Includes a sample RHC policies and procedures manual.
Date: 04/2004
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Modeling the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Conditions of Participation and Reimbursement Methodologies
Discusses the financial feasibility of the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC), a proposed provider type to expand services in remote and isolated primary care clinics. Compares Medicare reimbursement for FESC status with Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), Rural Health Clinic (RHC), and Critical Access Hospital (CAH) reimbursement. Includes detailed examples of financial impact for seven clinics in rural Alaska, Nevada, Washington, and Wyoming.
Date: 2004
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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