Rural Pharmacy and Prescription Drugs – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Pharmacy and Prescription Drugs.
CY 2024 Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment System Final Rule (CMS 1786-FC)
Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to the community mental health centers (CMHC) Conditions of Participation (CoPs); payment for intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; payment methodology for Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities that convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status; the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Fact sheet providing an overview of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) final rule regarding updates and changes to the Medicare payments for hospital outpatient and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) services for calendar year 2024. Summarizes provisions regarding changes to the community mental health centers (CMHC) Conditions of Participation (CoPs); payment for intensive outpatient program (IOP) services; payment methodology for Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribal facilities that convert to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) status; the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR), and Rural Emergency Hospital Quality Reporting (REHQR) Programs; and more.
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Pharmacists Fill Needed Health Care Gap For Rural Americans
Profiles rural pharmacists and their experiences working in areas that have an increased burden of chronic disease and reduced healthcare access.
Author(s): Loren Bonner
Citation: Pharmacy Today
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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Profiles rural pharmacists and their experiences working in areas that have an increased burden of chronic disease and reduced healthcare access.
Author(s): Loren Bonner
Citation: Pharmacy Today
Date: 10/2023
Type: Document
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Rural Pharmacies Provide Multi-Faceted Value to Rural Communities
Describes the role rural pharmacies can play in the provision of healthcare in rural communities. Describes the challenges faced by rural pharmacies and efforts to address those challenges through partnerships and pharmacist training.
Author(s): Whitney Zahnd
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Describes the role rural pharmacies can play in the provision of healthcare in rural communities. Describes the challenges faced by rural pharmacies and efforts to address those challenges through partnerships and pharmacist training.
Author(s): Whitney Zahnd
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Oral Health Disparities Through the Lifespan: Challenges and Opportunities
Recording of a June 7, 2023, conference session on oral health disparities as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Equity Conference. Features a presentation from the CMS Office of the Administrator comparing differences in rural and urban dental opioid prescribing to adolescent/young adult and adult Medicaid/CHIP enrollees by patient and county characteristics. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Carla Shoff, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Administrator - Presentation Slides
Date: 06/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Recording of a June 7, 2023, conference session on oral health disparities as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Equity Conference. Features a presentation from the CMS Office of the Administrator comparing differences in rural and urban dental opioid prescribing to adolescent/young adult and adult Medicaid/CHIP enrollees by patient and county characteristics. Transcript available below description.
Additional links: Carla Shoff, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Office of the Administrator - Presentation Slides
Date: 06/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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340B Drug Discount Program: Information about Hospitals That Received an Eligibility Exception as a Result of COVID-19
Provides an overview of a provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, that allowed hospitals to request an exception to the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) percentage eligibility requirement if they were unable to meet it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the exception process and provides information on hospitals that received the exception. Discusses the amount of 340B drug purchases and discounts that excepted hospitals indicated they had in 2020 and 2021; the extent to which excepted hospitals indicated providing discounts on 340B drugs to low-income, uninsured patients; and results of the Health Resources and Services Administration's audits and oversight activities to assess program compliance.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Provides an overview of a provision of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, that allowed hospitals to request an exception to the disproportionate share hospital (DSH) percentage eligibility requirement if they were unable to meet it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the exception process and provides information on hospitals that received the exception. Discusses the amount of 340B drug purchases and discounts that excepted hospitals indicated they had in 2020 and 2021; the extent to which excepted hospitals indicated providing discounts on 340B drugs to low-income, uninsured patients; and results of the Health Resources and Services Administration's audits and oversight activities to assess program compliance.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Travel Times to Facilities Offering Oral Medication Therapy for COVID-19
Results of a study exploring accessibility of oral COVID-19 therapeutics across the United States, by examining travel times to places where these medications are available. Features a county-level map with shadings showing ranges of travel time by census tract.
Author(s): Peter A. Kahn, Xiaohan Ying, Walter S. Mathis
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(1)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Results of a study exploring accessibility of oral COVID-19 therapeutics across the United States, by examining travel times to places where these medications are available. Features a county-level map with shadings showing ranges of travel time by census tract.
Author(s): Peter A. Kahn, Xiaohan Ying, Walter S. Mathis
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(1)
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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30 Years Of 340B: Preserving The Health Care Safety Net
Discusses the development and purpose of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and provides an overview of the program. Summarizes research on the impact of the 340B program on hospitals and lessons learned.
Author(s): Henry A. Waxman
Citation: Health Affairs Forefront
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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Discusses the development and purpose of the 340B Drug Pricing Program, and provides an overview of the program. Summarizes research on the impact of the 340B program on hospitals and lessons learned.
Author(s): Henry A. Waxman
Citation: Health Affairs Forefront
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
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It's Not Easy Being a Rural Pharmacy: Services, Payments, Closures, and Deserts
Webinar recording discusses the financial pressures facing rural pharmacies and the consequences of rural pharmacy closures. Explores pharmacy deserts as a barrier to rural healthcare. Features presentations from researchers from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis.
Additional links: Webinar Slides, Webinar Transcript
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, Rural Health Research Gateway
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Webinar recording discusses the financial pressures facing rural pharmacies and the consequences of rural pharmacy closures. Explores pharmacy deserts as a barrier to rural healthcare. Features presentations from researchers from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis.
Additional links: Webinar Slides, Webinar Transcript
Date: 11/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, Rural Health Research Gateway
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Audiology, Medicine, and Pharmacy Interprofessional Preliminary Interviews and Discussions: Improving Hearing Health Care in Rural Alabama
Results of a study to determine the feasibility of interprofessional collaboration among physicians and audiologists and pharmacists and audiologists, to improve access and affordability of hearing health care in rural communities. Based on information from online surveys and virtual discussion groups with 16 family physicians and medicine residents at the University of Alabama and 15 pharmacists who worked in independently owned community pharmacies in Alabama.
Author(s): Emma B. Brothers, Marcia J. Hay-McCutcheon, Peter J. Hughes, M. Louanne Friend
Citation: American Journal of Audiology, 31(3), 656-668
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Results of a study to determine the feasibility of interprofessional collaboration among physicians and audiologists and pharmacists and audiologists, to improve access and affordability of hearing health care in rural communities. Based on information from online surveys and virtual discussion groups with 16 family physicians and medicine residents at the University of Alabama and 15 pharmacists who worked in independently owned community pharmacies in Alabama.
Author(s): Emma B. Brothers, Marcia J. Hay-McCutcheon, Peter J. Hughes, M. Louanne Friend
Citation: American Journal of Audiology, 31(3), 656-668
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
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Update on Rural Independently Owned Pharmacy Closures in the United States, 2003-2021
Provides updated information on independently owned rural pharmacy closures from 2003 to 2021. Compares the annual retail pharmacy counts and percent change in the number of pharmacies by pharmacy type and metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore county status. Builds on past publications from RUPRI regarding rural pharmacy closures.
Author(s): Edmer Lazaro, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Provides updated information on independently owned rural pharmacy closures from 2003 to 2021. Compares the annual retail pharmacy counts and percent change in the number of pharmacies by pharmacy type and metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore county status. Builds on past publications from RUPRI regarding rural pharmacy closures.
Author(s): Edmer Lazaro, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Last Updated: 11/1/2024