Category: Articles

New JRH Articles on Medicaid Expansion’s Racial Impact, More

December 31, 2024

New JRH Articles on Medicaid Expansion’s Racial Impact, More

The latest issue of the National Rural Health Association’s (NRHA’s) Journal of Rural Health (JRH) is now available online featuring original articles and research on topics including:

  • The role of digital technology in rural health research;
  • Associations between COVID-19 therapies and outcomes in rural and urban America;
  • Barriers to participation in clinical trials of rural older adult cancer survivors;
  • The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban and rural hospital profitability;
  • The uneven impact of Medicaid expansion by race in rural and urban areas; and much more.

Click Here to Read NRHA Journal of Rural Health

Article: Why Hospital Violence is a Public Health Emergency

December 31, 2024

Article: Why Hospital Violence is a Public Health Emergency

A distressing 80 percent of emergency room doctors say violence has impacted patient care and safety where they work. Half of emergency physicians note they have witnessed harm to patients in the emergency department, and 47 percent report they themselves have been assaulted at work.

Since the pandemic, 44 percent of nurses report an increase in physical violence and 68 percent report an increase in verbal abuse. Additionally, health care violence prevention expert Kimberly Urbanek recently discussed ways to reduce violence, protect workers, and empower staff.

Click Here to Read Article: Hospital Workplace Violence is a Public Health Emergency

Click Here to Read Article: Taking a Proactive Approach to Reducing Violence in Healthcare

Feature Article: How Federal Funding Helped Build a Rural Cancer Care Network

December 20, 2024

Feature Article: How Federal Funding Helped Build a Rural Cancer Care Network

This feature article in The Rural Monitor describes how an urban nonprofit organization collaborated with a regional health care system and a rural physician’s office to create a network that brings comprehensive cancer care to residents in rural Georgia.

The Southeastern Rural Cancer Care Network used federal funds administered by FORHP’s Community Based Division through the Rural Health Care Coordination Program.

Click Here to Read Article

New Policy Briefs from National Advisory for Rural Health Policy

December 6, 2024

New Policy Briefs from National Advisory for Rural Health Policy

The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services is a citizens’ panel of rural health experts that convenes twice each year to examine pressing issues and make recommendations to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The most recent reports come from a meeting in Austin, Texas in April of this year, with an in-depth look at How Technology and Innovation Can Help Address Rural Health Care Challenges and Supporting Quality Measurement for Rural Health Clinics.

Click Here for Policy Brief: How Technology and Innovation Can Help Address Rural Health Care Challenges

Click Here for Policy Brief: Supporting Quality Measurement for Rural Health Clinics

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Achieves Record-Breaking 90.6% Viral Suppression Rate among Its More than 576,000 Clients

December 3, 2024

Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Achieves Record-Breaking 90.6% Viral Suppression Rate among Its More than 576,000 Clients

In commemoration of World Aids Day, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announce a record-breaking 90.6 percent of people with HIV receiving medical care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program are virally suppressed, exceeding national viral suppression rates. Viral suppression means people with HIV taking their medication cannot sexually transmit HIV and can live longer and healthier lives.

The new Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program data reflect several key milestones:

  • More than 576,000 people with HIV in the U.S. received life-saving care, medication, and essential support services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program representing over 50% of those with diagnosed HIV in the U.S.
  • Nearly 91 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving HIV medical care were virally suppressed in 2023. This is up from 70 percent of clients virally suppressed in 2010 and significantly higher than the 65 percent virally suppressed nationally (which includes people who do not qualify or receive treatment through the Ryan White Program).
  • Nearly 48 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients are aged 50 years and older, demonstrating the program’s success in supporting older clients and its commitment to addressing the unique needs of people with HIV as they age.

Click Here to access the new 2023 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program By the Numbers data infographic.

Click Here to learn more about HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program

Click Here to read full press release

Peer-Reviewed Publication: Utilization, Quality, and Spending for Pediatric Medicaid Enrollees with Primary Care in Health Centers vs non-Health Centers

December 2, 2024

Peer-Reviewed Publication: Utilization, Quality, and Spending for Pediatric Medicaid Enrollees with Primary Care in Health Centers vs non-Health Centers

Using 2012 Medicaid claims data, HRSA-funded researchers compared cost, use, and quality among health center and non-health center pediatric patients. They found that for health center patients, quality of care was comparable, and total expenditures were lower by $240 per patient. This suggests that delivering primary care pediatric services at a health center may be a more cost-effective health care model.

Click Here to Learn More

Peer-Reviewed Publication: Study Finds that Improving Pediatric Emergency Care Could Save More than 2,100 Children’s Lives Annually

December 2, 2024

Peer-Reviewed Publication: Study Finds that Improving Pediatric Emergency Care Could Save More than 2,100 Children’s Lives Annually

During medical emergencies, children have distinct needs. But 83% of emergency departments nationwide are not highly prepared to meet those needs. The new study, in JAMA Network Open, found that bridging that gap, known as having high levels of “Pediatric Readiness” could prevent the deaths of 2,143 children each year while costing between $0 and $12 per child resident, depending on their state.

The study underscores the importance of MCHB’s partnership in two initiatives, known as the Pediatric Readiness Projects. These projects support the nation’s 5,000+ emergency departments and 15,000+ emergency medical services agencies in improving pediatric emergency care. Data from a recent national emergency department assessment were the foundation for this study.

Click Here to Learn More about Pediatric Readiness Projects

Click Here to Read Study

Stroke Performance Differences in Rural vs Urban Hospitals

November 25, 2024

Stroke Performance Differences in Rural vs Urban Hospitals

Using data from the American Heart Association’s Get with The Guidelines stroke registry, a recent study assesses how rural hospitals, including stroke centers and non-stroke centers, perform in providing thrombolytic treatment, achieving guideline-recommendations, secondary stroke prevention, and in-hospital outcomes.

Click Here to Read Full Article

How Teletrauma Could Improve Rural Care, Decrease Costs

November 25, 2024

How Teletrauma Could Improve Rural Care, Decrease Costs

Teletrauma is a promising approach to improve access to health care expertise using remote consultation. It can bring expertise from a trauma center to injured patients in a non-trauma center, but experts say it is underutilized.

Additionally, telemedicine is enhancing emergency care in rural South Dakota, and the VA has proposed eliminating telehealth copays and expanding access for rural veterans.

Click on the Links Below to Read More:

Journal of Rural Health Article: Clinical Outcomes and Profitability Following Rural Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions

November 25, 2024

Journal of Rural Health Article: Clinical Outcomes and Profitability Following Rural Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions

As US hospital markets become increasingly consolidated, empirical evidence is needed on the clinical and financial impacts of mergers on care provided by rural hospitals. This study identified characteristics of rural hospitals that underwent mergers or acquisitions and examined changes in profitability, clinical outcomes, and patient experience at acquired versus non-acquired rural hospitals.

Findings

Compared to non-acquired hospitals, acquired hospitals were more likely to be for-profit (18.6% vs. 4.6%, p<0.001) and tended to have lower total margins (-1.1% vs. 1.2%; p<0.05) despite higher average clinical volumes. Changes in acquired hospitals’ total margins, patient satisfaction, and risk-adjusted 30-day mortality rates were not different than changes among control hospitals. However, acquisition was associated with lower improvement in 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rates (0.58 percentage point [p.p.] difference in differences, 95% confidence interval -0.88 to -0.28 p.p., p<0.001).

Conclusions

Overall, mergers or acquisitions of rural hospitals were not associated with significant improvements in profitability, clinical outcomes, or patient experience. Policymakers may need to closely monitor rural hospital mergers in order to balance preserving access for rural patients with the consequences of health care consolidation.

Click Here to Read Full Report