Hannah Neprash, PhD

Phone: 612.626.5818
Email: hneprash@umn.edu

Division of Health Policy and Management
University of Minnesota
420 Delaware St. SE
MMC 729
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Current Projects - (1)

Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals
The rise in hospital ransomware attacks threatens to harm patients, especially in rural areas. This project will use a novel dataset to analyze rural/urban differences in how ransomware attacks affect patients and hospitals.
Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Health information technology, Hospitals and clinics

Team-Based Primary Care in Rural Communities
This project will describe primary care practice structure in rural communities and quantify characteristics of primary care teams associated with high-quality care.
Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Allied health professionals, Healthcare access, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Physicians, Quality, Rural statistics and demographics, Workforce

What Happens to Rural Hospitals During a Ransomware Attack? Evidence From Medicare Data
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 03/2024
To understand more about how ransomware attacks affect care at rural hospitals, researchers used data on hospital ransomware attacks from 2016 to 2021. This paper describes how ransomware attacks disrupted hospital operations at rural and urban areas, and the implications for these attacks especially in rural areas.

Characteristics of Short-Term Acute Care Hospitals That Experienced a Ransomware Attack From 2016 to 2021
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 08/2023
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. In this paper, researchers compare the characteristics (including rurality) of ransomware-attacked and non-attacked hospitals in the U.S. in order to understand which hospitals may be most vulnerable to cybercrime.

Nurse Practitioner Autonomy and Complexity of Care in Rural Primary Care
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2020
The increasing number of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the rural U.S. has the potential to help alleviate primary care shortages. Using a nationwide source of claims and Electronic Health Record data from 2017, this study constructs measures of NP clinical autonomy and complexity of care.
Differences by Rurality in Satisfaction With Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2020
There are stark differences between rural and urban areas in demographic characteristics, health status, and healthcare. Yet less is known about rural‐urban differences in Medicare beneficiaries' satisfaction with care. We seek to understand rural‐urban differences in satisfaction with care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Rural and Urban Differences in Primary Care Pain Treatment by Clinician Type
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 04/2020
In this brief, we compare 2017 opioid prescribing rates among physicians and nurse practitioners within primary care practices and how these differ for rural versus urban areas.

Access and Capacity to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Health Clinics
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 12/2019
Access to timely, high-quality healthcare is essential for health, but rural areas face particular barriers to access, including for primary care. We present findings from an online survey of RHCs describing clinic characteristics related to healthcare access for rural Medicare beneficiaries.
Access to Specialty Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Communities
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 12/2019
Access to care is a challenge in many rural communities for both primary care services and specialty care services. We present findings from an online survey of Rural Health Clinics describing access issues for rural Medicare beneficiaries in seeking care from specialty care providers.
Measuring Access to Care in National Surveys: Implications for Rural Health
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2019
This brief presents data about how access to healthcare is measured, focusing on how this applies to rural populations.