Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule that withdraws the regulations on COVID-19 healthcare staff vaccination requirements issued in a November 2021 interim final rule. COVID-19 vaccination policies and procedures for healthcare staff will no longer be required under Medicare Conditions of Participation and Conditions for Coverage, effective August 4, 2023.
CMS Seeks Nominations for Air Ambulance Committee
The No Surprises Act required the Secretary of HHS and the Secretary of Transportation to form an advisory committee for the purpose of reviewing options to establish standards for quality, patient safety, and clinical capability in air ambulances. CMS is seeking nominations now through June 28 from each of the following groups: state insurance regulators; health care providers; health insurers offering coverage plans for groups and individuals; patient advocacy groups; and accrediting bodies with experience in quality measures. Nominations for health care providers should include physicians and other clinicians, as well as health care operations professionals experienced with air ambulance services and/or experience in addressing the challenges associated with transport in rural areas.
Apply by June 28.
Understanding and Overcoming Barriers to Rural Training in Family Medicine Obstetrics Fellowships
This study from the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center describes the characteristics of rurally oriented family medicine obstetrical (OB) fellowships and the challenges these programs face in providing OB training.
Here You Can Read About Diabetes Prevalence and Monitoring in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Areas Within a Commercially Insured U.S. Population
Compared to enrollees in metropolitan areas, enrollees living in rural areas had a 22 percent higher likelihood of having diabetes, even after controlling for factors like age and region. The Rural and Underserved Health Research Center also examined rates of screening for hemoglobin A1c and found that the odds for testing were 14 percent lower for people living in nonmetropolitan areas.
Providing High Quality Obstetric Care to American Indian/Alaska Native People in Rural Kotzebue, Alaska
For American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) birthing people, the risk of pregnancy-related death is two to three times higher than that of white birthing people. In Alaska, the disparity is even greater; Alaska Native birthing people have the highest rates of pregnancy-associated mortality, at over five times higher than white birthing people. This case study from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center examines the strengths and challenges for a hospital-based Tribal maternity unit located in Northwestern Alaska.
Event Recording: Watch the Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care in Rural America
On May 31, the Bipartisan Policy Center convened a panel of experts (including FORHP’s leadership) to discuss findings in their newly-released report, Achieving Behavioral Health Care Integration in Rural America.
Research in this section is provided by the HRSA/FORHP-supported Rural Health Research Gateway. Sign up to receive alerts when new publications become available.
Psychological distress is more common in some occupations; Read About a thirty-seven year panel study
Researchers found that occupations with a high risk of mental health problems are those with workers who: 1) have high physical or psychological job demands yet little control over work processes; 2) limited support at work; 3) limited ability to use their skills or discretion in how they do so; 4) low or inconsistent income; or 5) low occupational prestige. It’s estimated that about 19 million Americans have a major depressive episode in a given year and that mental health disorders cost employers nearly $200 billion in 2018. See the Funding section below for a new federal program aimed at improving job quality in specific sectors of the economy.
The Clinician Job Search Tool Gets an Upgrade
HRSA’s Health Workforce Connector, a free tool for connecting clinicians to job and training opportunities, is now easier to use. New features simplify job searches by discipline and program, and an expanded display for Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) helps clinicians looking for qualifying positions. The most recent quarterly report on HPSAs (pdf) shows that of all designated shortage areas, two-thirds are primary medical HPSAs in rural areas.
Here You Can Watch the Testimonial Video on How Telehealth Helps Patients Access Care
Telehealth can make it easier for patients to find or connect to a healthcare appointment. Watch this video to see how an HRSA grantee, Cherokee Health Systems, is using telehealth to help patients connect to a healthcare appointment and how they use resources on Telehealth.HHS.gov.
Labor Numbers Improve: Is the Great Resignation Over?
The Great Resignation — workers furiously quitting for new, likely higher-paying jobs — is a thing of the past according to Axios. The historic surge of quitters was a symptom of an on-fire labor market, where demand for workers far outstripped supply. Axios based its analysis on U.S. Department of Labor numbers that showed the quits rate falling to 2.4% in April. “We are pretty much back to a strong, robust labor market, but one that is no longer overheating,” Julia Pollak, an economist at ZipRecruiter, told Axios. Read the Labor Department’s press release.