- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
ONC: Health Information Management at Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) leads the federal effort to support health information technology systems nationwide. For this report, ONC reviewed a survey conducted in 2017 by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in which 13,585 U.S. substance abuse treatment centers were queried about their use of computers or electronic resources to store and exchange treatment records. Read the report here.
USDA Atlas of Rural and Small-Town America
The Economic Research Service (ERS) at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has updated its atlas to include county population estimates and annual unemployment/employment data for 2019. Researchers at the ERS use data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, an ongoing function of the Census that keeps track of changes in demographics, employment trends, household incomes, veterans’ status, and other factors that help determine how federal and state funds are distributed. Find the map here.
How One Hospital Transitioned a HRSA-Funded Program to Address COVID-19
A new feature article in The Rural Monitor profiles a Pennsylvania hospital that credits its previous award of the HRSA Outreach Program grant for 2015-2018 for their quick transition from in-person visits to telehealth under quarantine. Butler Memorial Hospital received the grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Federal Office of Rural Health Policy for a three-year program to help patients access resources for managing chronic disease. Read the article here.
NIH Request for Information: Clinical Experience in Suicide Prevention in Primary Care Settings – August 7
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks information from the public to better understand the opportunities and barriers in the primary care community regarding efforts to care for individuals with suicide risk. Relevant topics include how suicide screening is deployed, cultural/linguistic needs of patients, reaching disparity populations, and telehealth adaptations. Find more information here.
Request for Information: Seeking Stakeholder Input on Scientific Gaps and Research Needs Related to Delivery of Cancer-related Care via Telehealth – July 30
The National Cancer Institute is seeking information on scientific gaps and research needs related to the delivery of cancer-related care via telehealth. This request for information is part of a planning effort designed to identify promising opportunities and set priorities for research in this area. Find more information here.
E-learning Program: Improving Cultural Competency for Behavioral Health Professionals
A five-hour, on-demand e-learning program to help behavioral health professionals increase their cultural and linguistic competency. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, the program is accredited for contact hours for many behavioral health professionals. Find more information here.
Rural Resilience: Farm Stress Training
A self-paced online course for groups that work with farmers and ranchers to learn to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and suicide, ways to effectively communicate with people under stress, and how to reduce stigma related to mental health concerns. The training is sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Farm Credit, Michigan State University Extension, National Farmers Union, University of Illinois Extension. Find more information here.
Comments Requested: CMS Proposed Rule for Home Health Providers – August 31
On June 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a proposed rule for the FY 2021 Home Health Prospective Payment System (PPS). The proposed rule includes a payment increase for fiscal year (FY) 2021 of 2.7 percent ($540 million total), which rural areas will experience as 2.3 percent. CMS also included a summary of the methodology for rural add-on payments. The rule also adopts the most recent Office of Management and Budget (OMB) statistical area delineations with 34 urban counties becoming rural and 47 rural counties becoming urban. Find more information here.
Supporting the Health and Wellbeing of Middle-Aged Adults Living Alone in Rural Counties
This report from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center shares insights from healthcare providers in 14 rural counties with the highest rates of middle-aged adults living alone in order to inform policy and practice in how best to support the health and well-being of this demographic. Read more here.
The Supply and Rural-Urban Distribution of the Obstetrical Care Workforce in the U.S.
This brief from the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center describes the supply and geographic distribution of four types of OB care clinicians – obstetricians, advanced practice midwives, midwives (not advanced practice), and family physicians – using data from the 2019 National Plan and Provider Enumeration System and the American Board of Family Medicine. Read more here.