Hospitals and clinics
Current Projects
Advantages and Disadvantages of Hospital-Based Emergency Medical Services in Rural Areas
Research center:
Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Emergency medical services (EMS),
Hospitals and clinics
This project will clarify issues surrounding the hospital's decision to acquire and maintain ownership of community ambulance services.
Characteristics and Educational Needs of Rural Acute Care Hospital Boards of Directors
Research center:
South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Hospitals and clinics
Rural hospital boards face challenges in an environment of increasing legal and financial complexity. This study will characterize rural hospital Board of Directors’ backgrounds, perceptions of board function, and perceived need of training and development.
Examining the Applicability of the AHRQ's Inpatient Quality Indicators to Rural Hospitals and the Implications of the Relationship Between the Indicators and Financial Measures for Medicare Payment Policies
Research center:
Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health care financing,
Health policy,
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
This study will investigate how the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's inpatient quality indicators can be applied to rural hospitals and will explore the application of those indicators in answering relevant policy questions.
Health Information Technology and Quality in Rural Hospitals
Research center:
Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health information technology,
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
The purpose of this project is to: 1) examine the adoption of health information technology (HIT) among rural hospitals and identify hospital and market characteristics that facilitate or impede HIT diffusion; 2) measure the effect of HIT on clinical quality in rural hospitals; and 3) identify technologies that may be promoted to improve quality of care in rural areas.
Implementation of Telepharmacy in Rural Hospitals: Potential for Improving Medication Safety
Research center:
Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Hospitals and clinics,
Pharmacy and prescription drugs,
Quality,
Telehealth
The purpose of this project is to describe successful telepharmacy activities and to analyze policy issues related to the implementation of telepharmacy projects in rural hospitals. These policy issues include the potential impact of telepharmacy use on the quality of pharmaceutical services and medication safety for rural patients.
Improvement in the Quality of Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI): Have Rural Hospitals Followed National Trends?
Research center:
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
This project will determine whether overall improvements in the quality of care for AMI among Medicare patients, as measured by adherence to guidelines, have taken place in both rural and urban hospital settings.
Monitoring Medicare Hospital Outpatient Payments: Trends and Evidence of Impacts of Payment Policy
Research center:
Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health policy,
Hospitals and clinics,
Medicare,
Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS)
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.
Outpatient Payment Policy Under Medicare: Recent Policy Developments from the Rural Perspective
Research center:
Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health care financing,
Hospitals and clinics
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.
Potentially Preventable Rural Hospital Readmissions
Research center:
Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
This project focuses on the analysis of potentially preventable rural hospital readmissions, a potential quality indicator receiving considerable attention from policymakers and payers. Using 3-M algorithm software and MedPAR inpatient claims data from 9 geographically representative states, this study will explore the relationship between readmission rates and geographic regions, categories of rural hospitals, discharge destination, clinical diagnoses and patient attributes.
Quality Improvement Organizations' Contributions to Rural Hospital Performance
Research center:
Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Health information technology,
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality
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.
Rural Emergency Department Preparedness for Pediatric Care
Research center:
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Children,
Health services,
Hospitals and clinics
While many large cities have dedicated children’s hospitals or facilities with pediatric emergency departments, many general hospitals do not have either the equipment necessary to provide optimal pediatric emergency care nor staff that is specifically trained in the care of pediatric emergencies. This project will use secondary data analysis and semi-structured interviews with emergency room directors in order to address how the availability of pediatric services, expertise and supplies in U.S. emergency departments differs between urban and rural facilities, and to determine which factors impede the availability of pediatric services, expertise, and supplies in rural emergency departments.
Rural Provider Participation in a Statewide Health Information Project
Research center:
Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health information technology,
Hospitals and clinics,
Networking and collaboration
Nebraska has recently constructed a communication infrastructure that links all the hospitals in the state with broadband, high-speed systems (using T1 lines to the Critical Access Hospitals). That infrastructure is considered to be the backbone for a statewide health information network being designed by a coalition of organizations. The aim of this project is to delineate reasons for rural providers to participate in the coalition by assessing the associated costs and benefits.
Rural-urban Comparison of Hospital Financial Performance by Medicare Payment Classification
Research center:
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Hospitals and clinics,
Medicare
This project will compare the financial performance of rural and urban short term general hospitals by Medicare payment classifications (PPS only, Medicare dependent hospitals, sole community hospitals, rural referral centers, and critical access hospitals).
The Nursing Workforce Impact on Rural Hospital Performance Improvement in the Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration Project
Research center:
Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Hospitals and clinics,
Quality,
Workforce
The purpose of this project is to examine the impact of nurse staffing on hospital performance improvement in the CMS/premier Inc. Hospital Quality Incentive Demonstration project with specific interest in whether and how this relationship differs in rural hospitals as compared to urban hospitals.
Related Topics
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