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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Service delivery models

Lessons Learned: A Rural Case Study - Challenges Increasing Access to Dental Care Among Rural Veterans
Details the referral process initiated by the Grand Island Dental Outpatient Team in Nebraska for rural veterans who are ineligible for VA dental coverage to receive basic treatment from community dentists. Discusses some of the challenges to designing and implementing the program, such as establishing new partnerships with local dentists, adhering to a sustainable staffing plan, and pursuing data collection and analysis for measuring outcomes, among other factors.
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Integrating Community Health Workers into Complex Care Teams: Key Considerations
Examines effective strategies for integrating community health workers (CHWs) into complex care teams. Discusses factors to consider, such as recruiting and hiring, training and career progression, team integration, support and retention, and more. Includes a brief description of characteristics that are particularly important for CHWs working in rural areas.
Author(s): Jim Lloyd, Caitlin Thomas-Henkel
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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MORE Care: Narrowing the Rural Interprofessional Oral Health Care Gap
Presents an integrated healthcare model that connects oral health to primary care Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). Discusses challenges and strategies in implementing oral health interprofessional practice (IPP), such as developing dental referral networks and ensuring access to health information technology, among others. Details the collaboration between the State Offices of Rural Health in South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Colorado with the DentaQuest Institute and the Medical University of South Carolina.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sean G. Boynes, Lisa Davis, Graham Adams, Michelle Mills, Mark Deutchman
Date: 05/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: DentaQuest Institute
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Using Community Health Workers and Volunteers to Reach Complex Needs Populations
A recorded webinar that discusses how to integrate community health workers (CHWs) and volunteers into the healthcare system to care for complex patients in hard-to-reach areas. Includes a case study from rural Montana about collaborating with volunteers to help socially isolated patients access community resources and social services.
Date: 04/2017
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Substance Use in Rural Central Appalachia: Current Status and Treatment Considerations
Examines the factors in rural Central Appalachia that influence substance misuse and the treatments, strategies, and interventions to curb drug misuse and improve treatment outcomes. Discusses how the combination of poverty, work-related distress, lack of healthcare coverage, and the shortage of qualified providers of substance use treatments affect the need for a multifaceted policy approach in the region.
Author(s): Lara Moody, Emily Satterwhite, Warren K. Bickel
Citation: Rural Mental Health, 41(2), 123-135
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
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Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Geriatric Walking Clinic: Meeting Rural Veterans Where They Are
Presents a model for improving the physical wellness of older rural veterans. Discusses program and patient outcomes, as well as implementation considerations.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Telepharmacy Rules and Statutes: A 50-State Survey
Policy brief identifying state-enacted regulations and legislation authorizing use of community telepharmacy initiatives, and describing implications for patients in underserved rural communities. Includes a table listing states with telepharmacy permitted in some capacity, pilot programs that enable telepharmacy initiatives, waivers enabling telepharmacy initiatives, or no rules or legislation authorizing telepharmacy use.
Additional links: Table Supplement
Author(s): George Tzanetakos, Fred Ullrich, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Diabetes Self-Management Education Programs in Nonmetropolitan Counties — United States, 2016
Examines the availability of diabetes self-management education (DSME) programs in nonmetropolitan counties. Includes data on related characteristics for nonmetro counties with and without DSME programs, including diabetes incidence and prevalence, race/ethnicity, income, educational attainment, and other demographic information.
Author(s): Stephanie A. Rutledge, Svetlana Masalovich, Rachel J. Blacher, Magon M. Saunders
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 66(10), 1-6
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Health Care: Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring Use in Medicare and Selected Federal Programs
Examines factors affecting the provision of telehealth and remote patient monitoring (RPM) in Medicare and emerging payment and delivery models that could affect its future use. Analyzes data collected through review of agency documents and regulations, and interviews with officials representing 9 general and medical specialty associations familiar with telehealth. Includes state Medicaid reimbursement examples. Rural-specific implications are discussed throughout.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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The Sky's the Limit: Potential of Drone Usage in Rural Healthcare
Reports on how drones could be used in rural areas to address health-related concerns such as search and rescue, mosquito spraying, and delivery of supplies. Describes the July 2015 medical outreach event in rural Virginia where a drone was used to deliver prescription medicine.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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