Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Specialty care

Cancer Surveillance and Access to Care in Rural America
Webinar recording discusses a study on access to cancer care in rural areas nationally and in South Carolina. Analyzes travel distance to receive care for colorectal and cervical cancer care across the country and compares it to data on access to colorectal cancer care in South Carolina.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Webinar Transcript
Date: 02/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center), Rural Health Research Gateway
view details
Prevalence of Children Aged 3-17 Years With Developmental Disabilities, by Urbanicity: United States, 2015-2018
Results of a study examining geographic disparities in diagnoses of developmental disabilities and use of related services. Features statistics with breakdowns by prevalence of various conditions and by urban or rural location.
Author(s): Benjamin Zablotsky, Lindsey I. Black
Date: 02/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
January 2020 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2020 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services, physician and other health professional services, outpatient dialysis services and improving the ESRD payment system, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, long-term care hospital services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, hospice services, and ambulatory surgical center services. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
Geographic Disparities Affect Access to Buprenorphine Services for Opioid Use Disorder
Results of a national study to determine the patient capacity of healthcare providers who received waivers to prescribe buprenorphine and the extent to which they were located in rural or urban areas with high rates of opioid abuse. Features 2018 county-level maps showing rates of patient capacity and counties with high need for treatment services.
Author(s): Christi A. Grimm
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
view details
Introducing the L.A.U.N.C.H Collaborative
Describes the Linking & Amplifying User-Centered Networks through Connected Health (L.A.U.N.C.H.) demonstration project, based in Appalachian Kentucky and aimed at preventing cancer and removing obstacles faced by cancer patients in rural and underserved areas, through improvements in broadband access.
Author(s): F. Douglas Scutchfield, Kevin Patrick
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 2(1), 1-5
Date: 2020
Type: Document
view details
Access to Specialty Healthcare in Urban Versus Rural US Populations: A Systematic Literature Review
Surveys research between January 2013 – August 2018 on healthcare access, seeking clear definition and understanding of barriers to specialty care. Draws data from 67 peer-reviewed articles, presenting a conceptual framework based on common themes. Discusses issues of availability, perception, policy, stigma, and other access factors.
Author(s): Melissa E. Cyr, Anna G. Etchin, Barbara J. Guthrie, James C. Benneyan
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 19, 974
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
view details
Access to Specialty Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Communities
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff, from 27 states, to identify the most difficult specialty healthcare service to access, and why it is the most difficult to access. Conducts an analysis of RHC distance to the nearest hospital or clinic to determine variation in difficulty accessing specialty services.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Hannah Neprash, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana S. Tuttle, Ashley M. Hernandez
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
view details
The Value Initiative Members in Action: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center - Lebanon, N.H
Describes how the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center partners with rural and community hospitals to provide telehealth specialty care services across northern New England through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Connected Care program. Discusses clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction with the telehealth programs. Examines how telehealth services impact staffing and services offered in small and rural hospitals.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Issue Brief: Integrated Behavioral Health is High-value Care
Highlights the advantages of behavioral health integration. Addresses costs and healthcare outcomes and presents several models for integration in healthcare settings.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Veterans Health Care: Services for Substance Use Disorders, and Efforts to Address Access Issues in Rural Areas
Identifies and compares the differences in the number of veterans, and the expenditures for veterans receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, and specialty SUD services in rural and urban areas. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies were reviewed, interviews were conducted with agency officials, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data from 2014 to 2018 was analyzed to develop the report.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details