Using online survey data from 1,146 pharmacists, researchers examine their perceptions about drug use, drug screening, interventions, and the commitment and readiness to address opioid use disorder and drug use disorder in their patients.  The research includes breakdowns of pharmacist demographics as well as rurality of pharmacy locations.  Pharmacists who were White, practiced at a rural location, worked at a chain pharmacy, had not received opioid-related training in the past year, or practiced screening patients for opioid use had elevated odds of perceiving concerns about opioid use problems in their practice settings.  Having practiced pharmacy services for less time, and having received training for OUD-related preventive services within the last year, were associated with increased levels of commitment/readiness for providing care to patients with drug use problems.

– Respond by January 10. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is seeking people with lived or living experience (PWLLE) with drug use to participate in a working group to the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse. The working group will advise on how to better engage PWLLE with drug use in NIDA-funded research. The working group will also help create standards to guide researchers in engaging this population. This is an opportunity to ensure that the rural voice of PWLLE is represented in substance use disorder research.

– Comment by January 13.  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced its intention to eliminate copayments for all VA telehealth services and establish a telehealth grant program to fund designated VA telehealth access points in non-VA facilities, with a focus on rural and medically underserved communities, where approximately 4.4 million veterans reside. VA officially published the proposed Telehealth Grant Program rulemaking in the VA Federal Register on November 13. The Federal Register 60-day public comment period will remain open through January 13.

– The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) is pleased to support the Rural Hospital Stabilization Program (RHSP), a new initiative designed to assist rural hospitals in improving their financial stability and meeting community health care needs. Administered by FORHP through a grant to the National Rural Health Resource Center, this program offers no-cost assistance to rural hospitals to enhance or expand health care services such as pulmonary rehabilitation, outpatient behavioral health services, and primary care, ensuring care remains accessible close to home. To learn more about RHSP, join the introductory webinar next week.

In the United States, access to maternity care in rural counties continues to decline. Last week, JAMA Network published a research article from the FORHP-funded University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center showing that rural counties with no hospital-based obstetric services increased from 54 percent of rural counties in 2014 to almost 59 percent in 2022. The study authors discussed their findings in a recent Gateway webinar – Access to Maternity Care in Rural U.S. Communities. The presentation described disparities in maternal health outcomes for rural populations, the growing scarcity of obstetric care, and the far-reaching consequences of obstetric unit closures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a recording of their webinar highlighting tools and resources related to rural health, accomplishments, and future plans. Discusses the USDA Rural Health Program Index Tool, the Rural Development Innovation Center, the USDA Rural Health website, and the Rural Data Gateway.

The toolkit supports efforts to increase patient and community engagement in prevention, screening, and management of a cancer that is highly treatable if found early. Materials include social media posts, posters, a cervical screening follow-up card, and more. The toolkit and materials are available in English and Spanish.  In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported higher rates of cervical cancer for rural residents than urban. The FCCC is a multi-year federal partnership that bridges the federal priorities of cancer research and health care delivery in safety net settings of care. This resource is a companion to the Toolkit to Build Provider Capacity publicly available on the FCCC resources page in the headline link.

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.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the Medicare Advantage (MA) Value-Based Insurance Design Model (VBID) is ending on December 31, 2025. CMS is ending the model due to negative financial performance. Through the model, participating MA plans have had greater flexibility in serving high needs and underserved beneficiaries, and many of the lessons learned from the model have been incorporated into the MA program as a whole. Upon the model’s end, some beneficiaries in VBID MA plans may need to select a new MA plan or go back to traditional Medicare in 2026.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance last month providing clarity on how Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) may leverage space sharing arrangements with other healthcare entities, such as private physician practices, to increase access to care and services within the community, while maintaining independent compliance with all applicable Conditions of Participation (CoPs).  Because CAHs must maintain a specified distance from another hospital or CAH, they cannot share space with these types of facilities.  This guidance explains how a CAH may share space with other types of health care providers through either a ‘time share’ arrangement or a ‘leased space’ arrangement and meet requirements of their CoPs.