Rural issues

Critical access hospitals that did not achieve meaningful use in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2017 reporting period can apply through Nov. 30 for a hardship exception to avoid a 2017 payment adjustment.
Health care providers and others can apply through Jan. 15 for planning grants to prevent and reduce opioid use disorder in high-risk rural counties through community partnerships, the Health Resources and Services Administration announced last week. HRSA’s Rural Communities Opioid Response Program…
Livingston HealthCare in Montana used a grant to streamline behavioral health treatment and screen primary care patients, and Bath Community Hospital in Hot Springs, Va., partnered with a pharmacy software company to ensure its uninsured and chronically ill populations have access to needed…
  Review our Current Advocacy Activity in Rural Health Care here, and visit the links below for information on some important issues currently in play.
Also in this weekly roundup of health care news: When rural hospitals close, the health implications are significant; the VA pilots behavioral health integrated model; and a small drug company tests waters of cholesterol medicine market.
The Texas A&M University Rural and Community Health Institute recently received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration to create a technical advisory center for vulnerable rural hospitals.
Northern Maine Medical Center – Fort Kent, Maine Purchase of Retail Pharmacy Enhances Services to the Community In May 2018, Northern Maine Medical Center purchased a local retail pharmacy in an effort to improve patient outcomes, support patients’ medication adherence, reduce avoidable…
The American Hospital Association submits comments on how the Federal Communications Commission can encourage health care provider participation in its Connected Care Pilot Program.
The AHA Rural Health Care Leadership Conference brings together top thinkers in the field, and offers you proven strategies for accelerating performance excellence and improving the sustainability of your rural hospital.
A total of 64 rural hospitals closed between 2013 and 2017, more than twice the number during the prior five-year period.