Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Telehealth
Home Health Agencies Used Multiple Strategies to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Although Some Challenges Persist
Presents results of a survey of home health agencies (HHAs) conducted between September through December 2021 to explore the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses challenges related to staffing, infection control, the use of telehealth, and the adequacy of emergency preparedness plans, as well as challenges specific to rural HHAs. Provides recommendations for how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) can help HHAs prepare for and respond to current and future infectious disease outbreaks and changes to the home health care landscape.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Presents results of a survey of home health agencies (HHAs) conducted between September through December 2021 to explore the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses challenges related to staffing, infection control, the use of telehealth, and the adequacy of emergency preparedness plans, as well as challenges specific to rural HHAs. Provides recommendations for how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) can help HHAs prepare for and respond to current and future infectious disease outbreaks and changes to the home health care landscape.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of Inspector General (HHS)
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Telemedicine Use Among Adults: United States, 2021
Reports on the percent of adults who used telemedicine in the past 12 months. Includes data on telemedicine use for those living in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Jacqueline W. Lucas, Maria A. Villarroel
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Reports on the percent of adults who used telemedicine in the past 12 months. Includes data on telemedicine use for those living in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas.
Author(s): Jacqueline W. Lucas, Maria A. Villarroel
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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'Filling the Cracks': How a Rural Maine Community Kept its 24/7 Urgent Care Open with Paramedics
Features a pilot program serving rural Maine where paramedics take shifts staffing the local health center after-hours and on weekends.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Features a pilot program serving rural Maine where paramedics take shifts staffing the local health center after-hours and on weekends.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Pairing Project ECHO and Patient Navigation as an Innovative Approach to Improving the Health and Wellness of Cancer Survivors in Rural Settings
Presents a study on the use of Project ECHO and patient navigation programs to support rural cancer control programs for survivors. Evaluates the efficacy of the programs in improving both access to cancer support care, as well as the quality of care received. Details the challenges and facilitators to these programs in each site.
Author(s): Elizabeth Rohan, PhD,1 Nora Kuiper, MPH,2 Shelly-Ann Bowen, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 38(4), 855-864
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Presents a study on the use of Project ECHO and patient navigation programs to support rural cancer control programs for survivors. Evaluates the efficacy of the programs in improving both access to cancer support care, as well as the quality of care received. Details the challenges and facilitators to these programs in each site.
Author(s): Elizabeth Rohan, PhD,1 Nora Kuiper, MPH,2 Shelly-Ann Bowen, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 38(4), 855-864
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Implementation of an Intensive Telehealth Intervention for Rural Patients with Clinic-Refractory Diabetes
Analyzes the implementation of Advanced Comprehensive Diabetes Care (ACDC) to address type 2 diabetes (T2D) in rural patients. Examines 230 patients receiving ACDC through Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Home Telehealth (HT) infrastructure. Discusses the potential of telehealth to deliver specialty care to hard-to-reach populations.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Kobe, Allison A. Lewinski, Amy S. Jeffreys, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 3080-3088
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Analyzes the implementation of Advanced Comprehensive Diabetes Care (ACDC) to address type 2 diabetes (T2D) in rural patients. Examines 230 patients receiving ACDC through Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Home Telehealth (HT) infrastructure. Discusses the potential of telehealth to deliver specialty care to hard-to-reach populations.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Kobe, Allison A. Lewinski, Amy S. Jeffreys, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 37(12), 3080-3088
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Improving Rural Maternal Health Care through Network Models: Summary of the RMOMS Program 2021 Cohort
Describes the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program supporting increased access to maternal healthcare in rural communities and improvement in maternal and neonatal outcomes. Summarizes three RMOMS programs from the 2021 Cohort - Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative (Minnesota), RMOM-Southeast Missouri Partnership, and West Virginia RMOMS Collaborative. Identifies their maternal health service area, network partners, and goals and strategies for improving healthcare access and outcomes.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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Describes the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program supporting increased access to maternal healthcare in rural communities and improvement in maternal and neonatal outcomes. Summarizes three RMOMS programs from the 2021 Cohort - Families First: Rural Maternity Health Collaborative (Minnesota), RMOM-Southeast Missouri Partnership, and West Virginia RMOMS Collaborative. Identifies their maternal health service area, network partners, and goals and strategies for improving healthcare access and outcomes.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Resources and Services Administration
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September 2022 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2022 meeting. Covers Medicare payments to safety-net clinicians, the development of a prototype post-acute care prospective payment system, nursing facility staffing requirements and data, the expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and payment for telehealth services after the PHE, inpatient psychiatric facility care, and Part D data on drug rebates and discounts. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2022 meeting. Covers Medicare payments to safety-net clinicians, the development of a prototype post-acute care prospective payment system, nursing facility staffing requirements and data, the expansion of telehealth during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) and payment for telehealth services after the PHE, inpatient psychiatric facility care, and Part D data on drug rebates and discounts. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Medicare Telehealth: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Help Providers Educate Patients on Privacy and Security Risks
Analyzes 2019 and 2020 Medicare claims data to explore the utilization of telehealth services before and after the implementation of regulatory flexibilities and waivers in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes efforts taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify and monitor risks posed by Medicare telehealth waivers, as well as a change made to the enforcement of regulations governing patients' protected health information during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Offers three recommendations to CMS to strengthen oversight and assess the quality of telehealth services and one recommendation regarding assistance to providers to explain the privacy and security risks of telehealth to patients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Analyzes 2019 and 2020 Medicare claims data to explore the utilization of telehealth services before and after the implementation of regulatory flexibilities and waivers in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Describes efforts taken by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to identify and monitor risks posed by Medicare telehealth waivers, as well as a change made to the enforcement of regulations governing patients' protected health information during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Offers three recommendations to CMS to strengthen oversight and assess the quality of telehealth services and one recommendation regarding assistance to providers to explain the privacy and security risks of telehealth to patients.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Receipt of Out-of-State Telemedicine Visits Among Medicare Beneficiaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Study examining out-of-state telemedicine utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic by Medicare beneficiaries from January to June 2021 based on Medicare fee-for-service claims. Presents patient characteristics, variation in out-of-state telemedicine by geography, and benefits of out-of-state telemedicine access for rural beneficiaries.
Author(s): Ateev Mehrotra, Haiden A. Huskamp, Alok Nimgaonkar, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 3(9), e223013
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Study examining out-of-state telemedicine utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic by Medicare beneficiaries from January to June 2021 based on Medicare fee-for-service claims. Presents patient characteristics, variation in out-of-state telemedicine by geography, and benefits of out-of-state telemedicine access for rural beneficiaries.
Author(s): Ateev Mehrotra, Haiden A. Huskamp, Alok Nimgaonkar, et al.
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 3(9), e223013
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Health Panel Comment Letter – Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Rural Emergency Hospitals
Comments offered in response to a July 26, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2023 and establishing Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) payment policy, quality measures, and enrollment policy. Discusses telehealth services for mental healthcare; REH quality measures, telehealth, and Conditions of Participation; and the use of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on hospital and skilled nursing facilities changes in ownership.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Comments offered in response to a July 26, 2022, Federal Register proposed rule revising the Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payment system for calendar year 2023 and establishing Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) payment policy, quality measures, and enrollment policy. Discusses telehealth services for mental healthcare; REH quality measures, telehealth, and Conditions of Participation; and the use of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data on hospital and skilled nursing facilities changes in ownership.
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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