Examining the Magnitudes, Geographic Variations, and Determinants Of Expenditures Due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in Rural Hospitals

Funder:	Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Research center:	Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis Phone: 402.559.5260
Lead researcher:	Li-Wu Chen, PhD , 402.559.7113, liwuchen@unmc.edu
Project funded:	September 2005
Project completed:	January 2008
Topics:	Chronic diseases and conditions Health care financing Hospitals and clinics

The purpose of this study is to document the magnitude of and variation in ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSC) expenditures of rural hospitals and explore the relationships between rural hospital ACSC expenditure and its key determinants in the areas of population demand, health care system supply, and provider practice style.

There will be two components within this study: (1) to document the magnitude of ACSC-related expenditures incurred by rural hospitals and describe the patterns of geographic variation in these type of expenditures among rural areas and (2) to develop an econometric model to explain the variation in ACSC-related expenditures among rural hospitals.

The RUPRI Center will publish policy briefs based on this research.

Publications

• National Rural Hospital Charges Due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions
  Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Wanqing Zhang, Junfeng Sun, Keith J. Mueller
  Report Number: Policy Brief No. PB2007-4
  Date: 12 / 2007
  Documents the national magnitude of charges associated with hospitalizations due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions in rural hospitals.
• Regional Variation in Rural Hospital Charges Due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions
  Author(s): Li-Wu Chen, Wanqing Zhang, Junfeng Sun, Keith J. Mueller
  Report Number: Policy Brief No. PB2007-5
  Date: 12 / 2007
  Estimates and documents the regional magnitude of charges associated with hospitalizations due to ambulatory care sensitive conditions in rural hospitals.