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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Technology for health and human services

Social Media Savvy
Reports on how rural healthcare facilities can use social media to connect with their communities. Describes the strengths and potential uses of different social media platforms. Includes examples and insights from a New Hampshire hospital and a Kansas physician who are using social media to reach patients.
Author(s): Kate Menzies
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Food and Physical Activity Assessment Using an Electronic Tablet-Based Application, New York, 2013-2014
Evaluates the effectiveness of a community assessment tool focused on the built environment and used to capture images such as sidewalks, walkable destinations, restaurants, and food stores, in an effort to identify barriers and facilitators to healthy eating and active living. Includes resident perspectives on community features and opportunities for improvement.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin, Emily H. Morgan, Leah M. Connor, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 12
Date: 07/2015
Type: Document
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Disparities in Individuals' Access and Use of Health IT in 2013
Reports on patients' use of different types of health information technology (HIT) as of 2013, prior to a federal push to expand patient access to and use of HIT. Includes data specific to rural patients' use of HIT, showing lower use compared to urban patients. HIT types included emailing a provider, text messaging a provider, looking at test results online, and using a smart phone health app.
Author(s): Vaishali Patel, Wesley Barker, Erin Siminerio
Date: 06/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Creating Opportunity and Prosperity Through Strengthening Rural-Urban Connections
Highlights examples in which regional development organizations can benefit from linking rural regions with urban centers. Includes information on broadband development and its implication for improving access to healthcare services.
Author(s): Brian Dabson, Erin Meyers
Date: 05/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of Development Organizations
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The Persistent Health Care Access Gap for Children Living in Poverty: Will the Health Technology Revolution Level the Playing Field?
Discusses the need for and challenges to expanding healthcare technology for medically underserved children living in poverty stricken areas and rural areas. Highlights the potential to improve access to healthcare and health outcomes through the use of electronic health records (EHRs), telehealth, mobile medical clinics and diagnostic tools, and mobile communication devices. Offers recommendations for accelerating the use of technology in rural and underserved areas.
Date: 04/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Children's Health Fund
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Population Health in Rural Communities
Policy paper discussing the concept of population health in rural communities with a focus on providing better care, improving health, and lowering costs.
Author(s): Sally Buck, Patricia A. Crawford, John Gale, Deborah Holzmark, Michelle Mills
Date: 04/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Program Evaluation of Remote Heart Failure Monitoring: Healthcare Utilization Analysis in a Rural Regional Medical Center
Evaluates patients enrolled in Care Beyond Walls and Wires (CBWW) with a matched cohort comparison group. CBWW is a remote wireless monitoring program using broadband internet connected devices to facilitate patient and care team co-management for heart failure in a rural, Native American patient population in Arizona. Includes data for the number of hospitalizations, hospitalization days, and the hospital charges by the 3 cumulative day categories pre- and post-intervention.
Author(s): William T. Riley, Pamela Keberlein, Gigi Sorenson, et al.
Citation: Telemedicine Journal and e-Health, 21(3), 157-162
Date: 03/2015
Type: Document
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Qualitative Evaluation of the Relevance and Acceptability of a Web-Based HIV Prevention Game for Rural Adolescents
Study of the use of online gaming to increase the education and awareness of HIV and its prevention in rural African American youth in the South. Provides data from focus groups, including participants' demographic information and feedback on the game's relevance, acceptability, and essential design elements.
Author(s): Comfort Enah, Kendra Piper, Linda Moneyham
Citation: Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 30(2), 321-328
Date: 03/2015
Type: Document
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Compendium of Unimplemented Recommendations: March 2015
Annual report identifying the top 25 unimplemented recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) that, in OIG's view, would have the most substantial positive impact on Health and Human Services (HHS) programs. Positive impact may refer to cost savings, program efficacy and efficiency, and/or quality improvement. Primary areas of interest in the March 2015 edition include: Medicare payment policies and oversight mechanisms, face-to-face requirements for home health agencies, and strengthening fraud prevention in electronic health record (EHR) technology across all providers, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).
Date: 03/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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National Rural HIT Coalition Meeting
Details the minutes of a National Rural Health Information Technology Coalition face-to-face meeting in Washington D.C. Discusses a number of national and federal updates, as well as telehealth expansion and population health integration.
Date: 02/2015
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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