The Rural Opportunity Map

This resource is a mapping and data analysis focused on rural communities. It includes a gallery of maps addressing various issues, including maps currently in beta focused on rural healthcare trends, hospital closures, and rural definitions. Find more information here.

Public Transportation: Enhanced Federal Information Sharing on Coordination Could Improve Rural Transit Services

This report details the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) efforts in improving rural public transit coordination and identifies areas for improvement. It highlights some of the challenges affecting the FTA’s ability to effectively coordinate transportation for rural and tribal areas. Read the overview here. Read the full report here: Full Report

Patients’ Experiences in CAHs: HCAHPS Results, 2018

This report provides results from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey for calendar year 2018. It summarizes reporting rates and performance among all U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). It includes detailed tables that allow state-by-state comparison of response rates and overall CAH performance. Read more here.

Explore Census Data

This resource provides access to data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. It includes the American Community Survey (ACS) with socioeconomic and demographic data and the ability to narrow to rural data. Find more information here. Historical U.S. Census data is available on American Factfinder.

Comparison of Rural vs Urban Direct-to-Physician Commercial Promotion of Medications for Treating Opioid Use Disorder

This article presents results of a cross-sectional county-level study using all reported direct-to-physician pharmaceutical payments from manufacturers of opioid use disorder medications from 2014-2017, as well as demographic and economic data from 3,140 counties. It features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas. Read more here.

Few Doctors Can Legally Prescribe Opioid-Addiction Drug

This article presents an overview of a study that suggests fewer than 1 in 10 U.S. primary care providers can prescribe buprenorphine to treat opioid addiction. Findings show counties with the highest opioid overdoses saw a climb in physicians able to prescribe the medication, but rural communities did not see as much of an increase as urban communities. Read more here.

Telemedicine and Pregnancy Care

This article explores the role telemedicine can play in providing prenatal and postpartum care to women in rural areas. It highlights the types of specialized care that can be delivered via telemedicine to support maternal care in rural areas. It also discusses some of the barriers to telemedicine implementation, including state-level Medicaid reimbursement policy. Read more here.