Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Current Projects
Augmenting Efforts for a Tool to Predict Post-Event Rural Population Surge
The Walsh Center is developing a tool to predict post-event rural population surge following public health emergencies, with funding originating from CDC. To enhance predictive accuracy of this tool and to more generally inform rural preparedness efforts, this project will gather information using key informant and survey methodologies.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Emergency preparedness
Effect of Travel Distances on Access to Obstetric Care and Birth Outcomes in Rural Communities
This study will assess whether the availability of obstetric providers in rural areas is sufficient to meet the need for obstetric care by measuring the distance patients must travel to obtain prenatal care and delivery and by examining health outcomes related to labor and delivery.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Maternal and child health,
Physicians,
Women
Exploring the Black Box: Design and Implementation Issues of P4P for Rural Physicians
Information about how pay-for-performance (P4P) payment systems work in ambulatory care settings, and in particular, how rural physicians might be affected, is scarce. This study employs qualitative research methods to explore the design and implementation of P4P systems and to investigate effects of P4P on rural physicians in a variety of settings.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Emergency medical services (EMS),
Health care financing,
Physicians
Monitoring Medicare Hospital Outpatient Payments: Trends and Evidence of Impacts of Payment Policy
This project documents trends in the provision of Medicare hospital outpatient services under both the new outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and cost-based mechanism used for critical access hospitals, and assesses evidence on the impacts of Medicare OPPS on Medicare and total outpatient revenue.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health policy,
Hospitals and clinics,
Medicare,
Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS)
Outpatient Payment Policy Under Medicare: Recent Policy Developments from the Rural Perspective
This study was designed to examine outpatient payment options for rural hospitals, the advantages and disadvantages of each, and their potential impact on hospital revenue and rural access to health services.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health care financing,
Hospitals and clinics
Quality Improvement Organizations' Contributions to Rural Hospital Performance
This qualitative study is designed to gather information on best-practices in Quality Improvement Organization (QIO)-rural hospital partnerships. Specifically, this study will identify successful and replicable examples in which QIOs have worked with rural and critical access hospitals to improve processes of care, implement health information technology and promote organizational safety culture.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Health information technology,
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
Stay or Leave: Evidence from a Cohort of Young Rural Physicians
This project aims to improve understanding of the dynamics of physician practice location decision making by examining and analyzing changes in practice locations for a sample of rural physicians.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Physicians,
Workforce
Use of Emergency Departments and Inpatient Care for Conditions Related to Poor Oral Health Care
This study combines patient-level data from emergency departments and inpatient hospitals from selected states with data on dental HPSA designation, Medicaid dental coverage, and area population characteristics to document the extent to which ED and inpatient settings are used to treat problems related to poor oral health care, the charges for such care, and variations in the use of such services by characteristics of the patient and the area.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Dental health,
Health services
