Telehealth usage increased during the Public Health Emergency (PHE), and this has fueled discussions on the optimum use of telehealth in healthcare delivery. Based on experiences during the PHE, and new applications of telecommunications technologies, this report assesses potential improvements in rural health service delivery, as well as potential unintended consequences that could undermine goals to improve services for currently underserved populations. The assessment is guided by the over-arching framework of the high-performing rural health system (HPRHS), to understand the benefits of telehealth in improving health equity as affecting four pillars of the HPRHS – access, affordability, community health, and quality.

Click here to open the full document.

Principal Authors: Joel M. James, MPH and Keith J. Mueller, PhD (Panel Chair) 

Prepared by the RUPRI Health Panel: Alva O. Ferdinand, DrPh, JD; Alana D. Knudson, PhD; Jennifer P. Lundblad, PhD, MBA; A. Clinton MacKinney, MD, MS; Timothy D. McBride, PhD; Nancy E. Schoenberg, PhD

 

A new policy brief is available on the Flex Monitoring Team website: Patient Transfers to and from Critical Access Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic. In this brief, the Flex Monitoring Team describes the volume, barriers, and facilitators of inbound and outbound patient transfers as found in a survey of Critical Access Hospital CEOs.

The Rural Health Value team has released the annual update of the Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers.  This is your “go to” resource for staying current on CMMI payment demos that are germane for rural health care organizations and clinicians. Please share this resource as appropriate with your networks and stakeholders:

Catalog of Value Based Initiatives for Rural Providers
One-page summaries describe rural-relevant, value-based programs currently or recently implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), primarily by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and its Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI).   (2023)

Link:    https://ruralhealthvalue.org/files/Catalog%20Value%20Based%20Initiatives%20for%20Rural%20Providers.pdf

Related resources on the Rural Health Value website:

• Medicare Shared Savings Program: Rule Changes and Implications for Rural Health Care Organizations – A summary of the changes made to the Medicare Shared Savings Program taking effect January 2023 and 2024. This Rural Health Value analysis outlines how the changes would reduce barriers to participation for potential or reentering ACOs that operate in rural contexts.
• How to Design Value‐Based Care Models for Rural Participant Success: A Summit Findings Report – Based on the input from a two-day virtual summit of rural participants in value-based care models and programs, summarizes themes and actionable recommendations that can be used by those designing and supporting value-based care models to improve the viability, relevance, and likelihood of rural health care organization participation and success.
• Experience in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model: Barnes-Kasson County Hospital – A critical access hospital in Susquehanna, PA provides insight into their experience participating in the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, which includes a global budget and transforming care to address community health needs.

Contact information:

Clint MacKinney, MD, MS, Co-Principal Investigator, clint-mackinney@uiowa.edu

According to a new study, the number of undergraduate public health majors has increased significantly over the past two decades. The study analyzed the popularity of undergraduate public health majors, the demographics of those programs, and the careers their graduates pursue. The increased interest can partially be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to read the study.

 According to a new report, interoperability – the ability of healthcare providers to exchange electronic health information – continues to improve among hospitals. As of 2021, 88 percent of hospitals engaged in sending and obtaining patient health information electronically.  The rate of availability of outside information at the point of care grew over 20 percent in 2021 reaching 62 percent nationwide.  For rural and small hospitals the rate grew by more than 26 percent, reaching a rate of 48 percent.  Additionally, usage of information received electronically from outside sources by rural and small hospitals increased at twice the rate of hospitals nationally (over 40% vs. over 20%) between 2017 and 2021. The report concludes these less-resourced hospitals are still not on par with their counterparts, indicating the need to continue addressing challenges with having full access to electronic information from external sources.

Among the findings in this policy brief from the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Analysis: gains in services occurred more frequently in hospitals that left healthcare systems, while the majority of service losses occurred in hospitals that joined systems.

 Among the key findings in this study from the Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health: among rural hospitals at risk of financial distress, closures disproportionately took place in communities with specific sociodemographic characteristics: lower incomes, a lower percentage of college graduates, larger populations, lower percentages of the White population, higher percentages of the Black population, higher child poverty, higher unemployment rates, higher uninsurance rates for those younger than 65, a higher percentage of adults reporting fair or poor health, higher obesity levels, and higher rates of smoking.

The Flex Monitoring Team released a new policy brief, Care Coordination and Community Partnerships for Cancer Care in Critical Access Hospitals. This brief presents data from a survey of 135 CAHs across the U.S. and provides specific data on care coordination services provided in CAHs and staff providing these services, as well as information related to CAH partnerships with community organizations in community cancer initiatives.

New Brief Highlights Changes to Urban Areas in Pennsylvania

The U.S. Census Bureau released an updated list of urban areas, boundary maps and other related material this month. Read more on our Research Briefs page or click here to go straight to the brief.

Census Bureau Updates

• American Community Survey 2017-2021 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Released

The 2017-2021 ACS 5-year PUMS were released this month. PUMS files allow data users to create custom estimates and tables that are not available through ACS pretabulated data products. Click here to explore options for accessing the latest data.

• New ACS Data Products Available for the 118^th Congress

The Census Bureau released new social, economic, housing, and demographic statistics for the 118th Congress. The four Data Profiles are available for all 435 congressional districts and are available in the Census Bureau’s FTP site and through a web-based lookup tool on the ACS website.

• American Community Survey Migration Flows

The U.S. Census Bureau released new data tables from the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS) highlighting the geographic mobility of people. Click here to learn more.

• Census Bureau and AmeriCorps Released the Civic Engagement and Volunteering Supplement

Click here to access the 2021 Current Population Survey (CPS), Civic Engagement and Volunteering (CVC) Supplement Microdata File. This is the most robust longitudinal survey about volunteerism and other forms of civic engagement in the United States.