Rural Health Information Hub Latest News

New Report on Use of Electronic Health Information Exchange Has Been Released

  The Government Accountability Office (GAO) interviewed federal and state officials and reviewed survey data from providers to learn how the use of electronic health information exchange changed since the enactment of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act in 2009.  GAO found that the use of electronic exchange among hospitals and physicians increased in recent years but use among small and rural hospitals was lower than that of other hospitals. This finding may be because small and rural providers are less likely to have the financial and technical resources to participate in electronic exchange—such as adequate IT staff and sufficient access to broadband internet.

Read About The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program in a Rural Context

In a project supported by the federal Administration for Children and Families, researchers gathered administrative data and conducted interviews with human services providers at 11 rural sites in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.  The resulting brief provides a series of lessons learned and practitioners’ recommendations for the use of federal funding through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, also known as TANF.  For almost 30 years, TANF has provided an annual block grant to states that gives them flexibility to design state-based programs for low-income families with children.  In interviews, TANF program staff and members of community partner organizations described various caseload management approaches, service delivery models, and adaptations for their rural contexts.

A Recent Study Finds Black Women Experience Poorer Maternal Outcomes Even in Least Vulnerable Counties

Black women living in the least vulnerable areas of the U.S. are more likely to die or have worse birth outcomes compared to white women living in the most vulnerable areas, according to a recent study published in The Lancet. Federal data also showed that maternal mortality rates in the U.S. rose 40% in 2021, which is the highest rate in nearly 60 years. The study recommends locally informed health interventions and additional research into racism to achieve maternal health equity. Read More.

Pennsylvania Launches Abortion Access Website After Texas Ruling

Pennsylvania launched a website for reproductive health care resources after a Texas judge’s unprecedented ruling halting approval of the nation’s most common method of abortion. The new website, unveiled on Monday, helps users find a provider near them, make a plan, and get financial support. Read more. The Biden Administration has appealed the ruling and 240 members of Congress, including nearly every Democrat in the Senate, filed an amicus brief Tuesday urging the Fifth Circuit to stay last week’s district court order blocking the FDA’s decades-old approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court narrowed the decision by the Texas judge, preserving access to the abortion pill mifepristone for now but reducing the period of pregnancy when the drug can be used and said it could not be dispensed by mail. Democratic governors across the U.S. announced plans to stockpile mifepristone following the Texas judge’s ruling to suspend approval of the drug, but Gov. Josh Shapiro said state law prevents him from doing so in Pennsylvania.