SHIP Resources for Hospitals

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program

The following resources are intended for states and hospitals looking for ideas, resources, and tools related to activities under the Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP). The 47 participating State Offices of Rural Health assisted 1,580 hospitals throughout the US with $13.43 million in financial assistance in 2015.

• SHIP TA Webinar
• Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC)
• Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP)
• Coordinator Technical Assistance (TA)
• Investment Resources
• Health Education and Learning Program (HELP) Webinars
• Performance Management Group (PMG) Calls
• Rural HIT Network Development (RHITND)
• Rural Hospital Toolkit for Transitioning to Value-based Systems

Better Together: Resources on Forming Collaboratives in Rural Health Care

The National Rural Health Resource Center (The Center) encourages rural health organizations to form networks to collaborate on solutions, share knowledge, save money, and increase influence. Rural health care networks have a role in rural leadership, quality reporting, patient and community engagement, health information technology, workforce development, and enhanced care coordination. Within SHIP programs, networks are important for providing education and outreach, channeling communication, pooling resources, streamlining administration, and sharing CAH best practices and benchmarking.

• Building Commitment Through Group Decision Making
• Building Trust in Collaborative Partnerships
• Moving Toward Health Care Transformation
• Forming Rural Health Networks: A Legal Primer
• Strategic Planning for Newly Formed Networks

SHIP Investment Resources

SHIP Investment Resources are organized to align with the SHIP Purchasing Menu according to the three key focus areas for hospital training and improvement activities:

1. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) or Shared Savings (SS): Activities that support the development or basic tenets of ACOs or Shared Savings Programs
   • Community Paramedicine
   • Quality Improvement
   • Community Care Coordination and Chronic Care Management for tools to develop an integrated care delivery system and resources on care coordination models
   • Population Health Management for resources on Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) and tools to identify key populations
   • Strategic Planning for system approach planning tools to develop and execute effective strategic plans
   • Self-assessment for Transition Planning available to identify performance improvement opportunities and areas for growth and development
   • Population Health Portal Readiness Assessment to identify steps, resources and educational modules to support population health planning
   • Rural Health Value (RHV) Toolkit for resources on facilitating health care transformation
   • RHV Toolkit ties strategies to health information technology and population health technology
   • Educational trainings on Population Health and Community Care Coordination available through HELP webinars
   • Telemedicine or Mobile Health Equipment
2. Value-Based Purchasing (VBP)
   • Rural Hospital Toolkit for Transitioning to Value-based Systems (Transition Toolkit)
   • Quality Improvement best practice tools on care management, HCAHPS, and patient and family engagement
   • Physician and Provider Engagement and Alignment resources support participation in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Shared Savings Programs
   • Educational trainings on quality improvement provided through Hospital Education and Learning Program (HELP) Webinars support hospitals with quality reporting and improvements, and patient satisfaction
   • Hospital success stories in the transition to value provided through Hospital Spotlights
3. Payment Bundling (PB) or Prospective Payment System (PPS)
   • CMS Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) Model 4
   • CMS BPCI Learning & Resources Area
   • Educational trainings on Financial and Revenue Cycle Improvement available through HELP Webinars support hospitals with gaining a better understanding of alternative payment models such as PB

Training and Events to Support All Hospitals

Hierarchical Condition Coding Education

Hierarchical Condition Category Coding or coding for value-based purchasing (wellness visits, chronic care management, etc.) may be considered to support hospitals.

• Healthcare Financial Management Association
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – Value-Based Payment Modifier

Health Information Technology Training for Value and ACOs (Quality Reporting and Patient Portals)

Health Information Technology (HIT) has great potential to improve the quality, safety, and effectiveness of health services in rural communities, as well as help providers manage population health. However, implementing, maintaining, and optimizing HIT can be a challenge for rural facilities and providers with limited resources and technology expertise.

• Health Information Technology in Rural Healthcare
• Office of the National Coordinator Resources for Critical Access Hospital and Small Rural Hospital

Data Analytics Training: Webinar and Portal

In this webinar, you will learn about data analytics and statistical analysis to rural health networks. We will introduce open source tools that are useful for analyzing complex data relationships and learn about best practices and available resources associated with data analytics.

• Data Analytics Webinar

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB1RH24206, Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Grantees, $957,510 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

Healthcare data is being generated at an unprecedented rate and meaningful use of EHRs is integrally linked to this trend. This portal provides tools and resources aimed to assist healthcare organizations gain maximum value from their EHR data related to meaningful use and beyond.

• Data Analytics Portal

Value-Based Payment Education: Alternative Payment Models and Merit- Based Incentive Payment Systems (MIPS)

Resources focused on engaging physicians and other providers to successfully transition to a value-based system.

• Physician and Provider Engagement and Alignment

Lean Projects Related to SHIP Menu Categories

Lean health care training for small rural hospitals. A series of three webinars that cover the principles of Lean, Areas of Waste, Value Stream Mapping, Problem Solving, Measurement and Lean Culture.

• SHIP Lean Training, Part 1
• SHIP Lean Training, Part 2
• SHIP Lean Training, Part 3

Pricing Transparency Training

Pricing transparency is an ACA requirement and customer expectations are on the rise. Many providers struggle to explain or understand the methodology used to establish pricing.

• Important Considerations in the Development of a Defensible Pricing Strategy

Funding can also be used to assist small rural hospitals and CAHs with provider-based rural health clinics to assist with the implementation of NQF-endorsed measure specification adoption.