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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Service delivery models

Coronavirus Pandemic Highlights Critical Gaps in Rural Internet Access for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: A Call for Partnership with Medical Libraries
Highlights the challenges of reaching migrant and seasonal farmworkers with public health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discuses migrants' lack of broadband internet as an inhibitor to migrants' ability to access both healthcare and public health information.
Author(s): Joseph G. L. Lee, Catherine E. LePrevost, Emery L. Harwell, et al.
Citation: Journal of the Medical Library Association, 108(4), 651-655
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
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The Evolving Landscape of National Telehealth Policies during a Public Health Emergency: Responsiveness to Rural Needs
Provides an overview of the telehealth policy landscape and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on telehealth utilization. Compares policy recommendations from the Bipartisan Policy Center's Rural Health Task Force to COVID-19-related policy changes. Includes considerations for additional telehealth policy changes.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Hannah Rochford, Andrew F. Coburn, et al.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Telebehavioral Health: An Effective Alternative to In-Person Care
Issue brief discussing telehealth treatment modalities based on a 2019 review of clinical outcomes related to telebehavioral health. Covers three state-level approaches: the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center Rural Telemental Health Program (VA RTMH), which serves rural Oregon veterans, and Medicaid policies in Texas and Massachusetts. Addresses telebehavioral health policy details, implementation, and considerations for states looking to develop new telebehavioral health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Author(s): Brittany Lazur, Lily Sobolik, Valerie King
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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Implementation of Flex EMS Supplemental Funding Projects: Year One Activities
Provides an overview of the first-year implementation efforts of the eight Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Supplemental funding grant recipients. Describes each grant project, the impact of COVID-19 and other challenges on project implementation, and factors that facilitated implementation. Includes recommendations for grantees.
Author(s): Karen Pearson, John Gale, Sara Kahn-Troster
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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The Impact of Coronavirus on Households in Rural America
Reports on the experiences of rural households during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses impacts on finances, employment, healthcare, housing, food, and child care. Concerns related to healthcare include access to care during the pandemic, concerns for those with special health issues such as chronic conditions, and use of telehealth.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, National Public Radio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Revisions to Part B for CY 2021
Comment on an August 17, 2020 Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve payment systems for physicians and other Medicare Part B revisions. Includes a discussion of COVID-19-related telehealth expansion.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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State Support to Rural Hospitals Fact Sheet
Overview of the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) and the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility (Flex) program supporting rural hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals. Highlights with data the impact of these programs on a national level.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, 2020-2025
Outlines federal goals, plans, and priorities as they relate to health information technology (HIT) and its application across the U.S. Discusses federal efforts to improve broadband access and HIT infrastructure in all areas, including rural and tribal areas.
Date: 10/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Service Learning in Health Care for Underserved Communities: University of Iowa Mobile Clinic, 2019
Provides an overview of the University of Iowa Mobile Clinic (UIMC) that provides healthcare for underserved populations in Iowa. Discusses how UIMC was implemented, what communities it serves, and the healthcare services it provides. Discusses the public health significance of having a free medical clinic entirely run by students.
Author(s): Melissa L. Palma, Andrea Arthofer, Kristen M. Halstead, Joyce M. Wahba, Denise A. Martinez
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1304-1307
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
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September 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2020 meeting. Covers the coronavirus pandemic and Medicare, the context for Medicare payment policy, a mandated report on the skilled nursing facility value-based purchasing program, a mandated report on the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014's changes to the Medicare clinical laboratory fee schedule, and a Congressional request on private equity and Medicare. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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