This research letter describes a study of the Online Purchase Pilot (OPP), which allows beneficiaries in 8 states to use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to buy groceries online. It includes statistics on the availability of grocery delivery among rural food desert census tracts and SNAP households in the 8 OPP states. Read more here.

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.

This article examines electronic health record (EHR) use trends and health information exchange (HIE) capability among residential care communities. It includes data by metropolitan statistical area (MSA) status, comparing MSA and non-MSA areas. Read more here.

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.

This research examines how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, with a focus on vulnerable populations, including those living in rural areas. It makes recommendations for clinical settings on screening for negative health impacts related to social isolation and developing interventions to help address this issue. To read it online, click here.

This resource provides an overview of the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program, how the MDH designation differs from other rural hospital designations, and how MDH hospitals have changed over time. It discusses the decrease in the number of MDHs over time and examines a variety of operational and financial metrics across MDHs over time. Read the overview here.
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This article reports on the offering and uptake of telemedicine services by large employer health plans. It includes data on access to telehealth for rural and urban large employer health plan enrollees. Read more here.

This report highlights the various measures of the rural and agricultural economy. It includes rates of rural versus urban poverty and unemployment, as well as rates of food security in principal cities, suburban, and rural areas. Read more here.

This resource offers a step-by-step guide for developing a rural community baseline dataset, and identifies links to helpful resources and existing datasets, with the intent to help State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) focus on the demographics influencing health and the health needs of the rural communities within their state. Read more here.