Acuity Differences Among Newly Admitted Older Residents in Rural and Urban Nursing Homes.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Our primary objective was to assess rural-urban acuity differences among newly admitted older nursing home residents. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Data included the 2015 Minimum Data Set v3.0, the Area Health Resources File, the Provider of Services File, and Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes. Activities of daily living, the Cognitive Function Scale, and aggression/wandering indicators were used to assess functional, cognitive, and behavioral status, respectively. Excluding assessments for short stays (less than 90 days), assessments for 209,719 newly admitted long-stay residents aged 65 and older across 14,834 facilities in 47 states were evaluated. Difference in differences (DID) generalized linear models with state-fixed effects and clustering by facilities were used to assess the interaction effect of older age (75 plus) on rural-urban acuity differences, controlling for socioeconomic factors, admission source, and market characteristics. RESULTS: Residents admitted to rural facilities were less functionally impaired (incidence rate ratio: 0.973-0.898) but had more cognitive (odds ratio [OR]: 1.03-1.22) and problem behaviors (OR: 1.19-1.48) than urban. Although older age was predictive of higher acuity, in DID models, the expected decline in functional status was comparable in rural and urban facilities, while the cognitive and behavioral status for older admissions was 8.0% and 8.5% lower in rural versus urban facilities, respectively. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Although the higher prevalence of cognitive impairment and problem behaviors among rural admissions was attributable in part to older age, rural facilities admitted less complex individuals among older age residents than urban facilities. Findings may reflect less capacity to manage older, complex individuals in rural facilities.

Telehealth Use in a Rural State: A Mixed-Methods Study Using Maine's All-Payer Claims Database.

PURPOSE: This study assesses trends in telehealth use in Maine-a rural state with comprehensive telehealth policies-across payers, services, and rurality, and identifies barriers and facilitators to the adoption and use of telehealth services. METHODS: Using a mixed-methods approach, researchers analyzed data from Maine's All Payer Claims Database (2008-2016) and key informant interviews with health care organization leaders to examine telehealth use and explore factors impacting telehealth adoption and implementation. FINDINGS: Despite a 14-fold increase in the use of telehealth over the 9-year study period, use remains low-0.28% of individuals used telehealth services in 2016 compared with 0.02% in 2008. Services provided via telehealth varied by rurality; speech language pathology (SLP) was the most common type of service among rural residents, while psychiatric services were most common among urban residents. Medicaid was the primary payer for over 70% of telehealth claims in both rural and urban areas of the state, driving the increase of telehealth claims over time. Issues challenging organizations seeking to deploy telehealth included provider resistance, staff turnover, provider shortages, and lack of broadband. Key informants identified inadequate and inconsistent reimbursement as barriers to comprehensive, systematic billing for telehealth services, resulting in underrepresentation of telehealth services in claims data. CONCLUSIONS: Claims covered by Medicaid account for much of the observed expansion of telehealth use in Maine. Telehealth appears to be improving access to behavioral health and SLP services. Provider shortages, broadband, and Medicare and commercial coverage policies limit the use of telehealth services in rural areas.

Long-Term Services and Supports Use Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural and Urban Areas.

State and federal policies have shifted long-term services and support (LTSS) priorities from nursing home care to home and community-based services (HCBS). It is not clear whether the rural LTSS system reflects this system transformation. Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we examined nursing home use among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older. Study findings indicate that even after controlling for known predictors of nursing home use, rural Medicare beneficiaries exhibited greater odds of nursing home residence and that the higher odds of rural nursing home residence are, in part, associated with higher rural nursing home bed supplies. A complex interplay of policy, LTSS infrastructure, and social, cultural, and other factors may be influencing the observed differences. Federal and state efforts to build rural HCBS capacity may be necessary to mitigate stubbornly persistent rural-urban differences in the patterns of institutional and community-based LTSS use.

Patterns of Telehealth Use Among Rural Medicaid Beneficiaries.

PURPOSE: Few studies have examined telehealth use among rural Medicaid beneficiaries. This study produced a descriptive overview of telehealth use in 2011, including the prevalence of telehealth use among rural and urban Medicaid beneficiaries, characteristics of telehealth users, types of telehealth services provided, and diagnoses associated with telehealth use. METHODS: Using data from the 2011 Medicaid Analytic eXtract (MAX), we conducted bivariate analyses to test the associations between rurality and prevalence and patterns of telehealth use among Medicaid beneficiaries. FINDINGS: Rural Medicaid beneficiaries were more likely to use telehealth services than their urban counterparts, but absolute rates of telehealth use were low-0.26% of rural nondual Medicaid beneficiaries used telehealth in 2011. Psychotropic medication management was the most prevalent use of telehealth for both rural and urban Medicaid beneficiaries, but the proportion of users who accessed nonbehavioral health services through telehealth was significantly greater as rurality increased. Regardless of telehealth users' residence, mood disorders were the most common reason for obtaining telehealth services. As rurality increased, significantly higher proportions of telehealth users received services to address attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavioral health problems usually diagnosed in childhood. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide a baseline for further policy-relevant investigations including examinations of changes in telehealth use rates in Medicaid since 2011. Reimbursement policies and unique rural service needs may account for the observed differences in rural-urban Medicaid telehealth use rates.

Developing Program Performance Measures for Rural Emergency Medical Services.

BACKGROUND: The development of measures to monitor and evaluate the performance and quality of emergency medical services (EMS) systems has been a focus of attention for many years. The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program), established by Congress in 1997, provides grants to states to implement initiatives to strengthen rural healthcare delivery systems, including better integration of EMS into those systems of care. OBJECTIVE: Building on national efforts to develop EMS performance measures, we sought to identify measures relevant to the rural communities and hospitals supported by the Flex Program. The measures are intended for use in monitoring rural EMS performance at the community level as well as for use by State Flex Programs and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to demonstrate the impact of the Flex Program. METHODS: To evaluate the performance of EMS in rural communities, we conducted a literature search, reviewed research on performance measures conducted by key EMS organizations, and recruited a panel of EMS experts to identify and rate rurally-relevant EMS performance measures as well as emergent protocols for episodes of trauma, ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), and stroke. The rated measures were assessed for inclusion in the final measure set. RESULTS: The Expert Panel identified 17 program performance measures to support EMS services in rural communities. These measures monitor the capacity of local agencies to collect and report quality and financial data, use the data to improve agency performance, and train rural EMS employees in emergent protocols for all age groups. CONCLUSION: The system of care approach on which this rural EMS measures set is based can support the FORHP's goal of better focusing State Flex Program activity to improve program impact on the performance of rural EMS services in the areas of financial viability, quality improvement, and local/regional health system performance.

Safety of Rural Nursing Home-to-Emergency Department Transfers: Improving Communication and Patient Information Sharing Across Settings.

The "siloed" approach to healthcare delivery contributes to communication challenges and to potential patient harm when patients transfer between settings. This article reports on the evaluation of a demonstration in 10 rural communities to improve the safety of nursing facility (NF) transfers to hospital emergency departments by forming interprofessional teams of hospital, emergency medical service, and NF staff to develop and implement tools and protocols for standardizing critical interfacility communication pathways and information sharing. We worked with each of the 10 teams to document current communication processes and information sharing tools and to design, implement, and evaluate strategies/tools to increase effective communication and sharing of patient information across settings. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate changes from baseline in documentation of patient information shared across settings during the transfer process. Study findings showed significant improvement in key areas across the three settings, including infection status and baseline mental functioning. Improvement strategies and performance varied across settings; however, accurate and consistent information sharing of advance directives and medication lists remains a challenge. Study results demonstrate that with neutral facilitation and technical support, collaborative interfacility teams can assess and effectively address communication and information sharing problems that threaten patient safety.

Rural considerations in establishing network adequacy standards for qualified health plans in state and regional health insurance exchanges.

PURPOSE: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires Health Insurance Exchanges (HIEs) to specify network adequacy standards for the Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) they offer to consumers. This article examines rural issues surrounding network adequacy standards, and offers recommendations for crafting standards that optimize rural access. METHOD: This policy analysis reviews ACA requirements for QHP network adequacy standards, considering Medicaid managed care and Medicare Advantage (MA) standards as models. We analyze the implications of stringent vs flexible access standards in terms of how choices might affect health plans' participation in rural markets and rural enrollees' access to care. Finally, we propose strategies for designing standards with the degree of flexibility most likely to benefit rural consumers. FINDINGS: A traditional approach to safeguarding rural access is to impose strict network adequacy standards on plans in rural areas. However, if strict standards prove difficult to meet due to rural provider scarcity, they might diminish QHPs' willingness to serve rural areas. Thus, they could exacerbate rather than alleviate rural access problems. CONCLUSIONS: To benefit rural communities, network adequacy standards must be strong enough to provide real protections for beneficiaries, yet flexible enough to accommodate rural delivery system constraints and remain attainable for QHPs. Useful strategies to achieve this balance might include: adjusting standards according to degrees of rurality and rural utilization norms; counting midlevel clinicians toward fulfillment of patient-provider ratios; and allowing plans to ensure rural access through delivery system innovations such as telehealth.

Health care access and use among the rural uninsured.

The uninsured have poorer access to care and obtain care at greater acuity than those with health insurance; however, the differential impact of being uninsured in rural versus urban areas is largely unknown. Using data from the 2002-2007 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, we examine whether uninsured rural residents have different patterns of health care use than their urban counterparts, and the factors associated with any differences. We find that being uninsured leads to poorer access in both rural and urban areas, yet the rural uninsured are more likely to have a usual source of care and use services than their urban counterparts. Further, controlling for demographic and health characteristics, the access and use differences between the uninsured and insured in rural areas are smaller than those observed in urban areas. This suggests that rural providers may impose fewer barriers on the uninsured who seek care than providers in urban areas.

Access to rural mental health services: service use and out-of-pocket costs.

PURPOSE: To examine rural-urban differences in the use of mental health services (mental health and substance abuse office visits, and mental health prescriptions) and in the out-of-pocket costs paid for these services. METHODS: The pooled 2003 and 2004 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys were used to assess differences in mental health service use by rural and urban residence and average per person mental health expenditures by payer and by service type. FINDINGS: Study findings reveal a complicated pattern of greater need among rural than urban adults for mental health services, lower rural office-based mental health use and higher rural prescription use, and no rural-urban differences in total or out-of-pocket expenditures for mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: These findings raise questions about the appropriateness and quality of mental health services being delivered to rural residents. Lower mental health spending among rural residents is likely explained by lower use of psychotherapy and other office-based services, but it may also be related to these services being delivered by lower-cost providers in rural areas. Findings suggest that an approach focusing on reducing underinsurance for all health services among rural residents may help to reduce unmet mental health needs among the rural privately insured.

Implementing patient safety initiatives in rural hospitals.

Implementation of patient safety initiatives can be costly in time and energy. Because of small volumes and limited resources, rural hospitals often are not included in nationally driven patient safety initiatives. This article describes the Tennessee Rural Hospital Patient Safety Demonstration project, whose goal was to strengthen capacity for patient safety initiatives in 8 small Tennessee rural hospitals using a multi-organizational collaborative model. The demonstration identified and facilitated implementation of 3 patient safety interventions: the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) patient safety culture survey, use of personal digital assistants (PDAs), and sharing of emergency room protocols. The experience suggested that a collaborative model between rural hospitals, a payer, a hospital association, a quality improvement organization, and academic institutions can effectively support patient safety activities in rural hospitals. Successful implementation of the 3 patient safety interventions depended on leadership provided by nursing and patient safety/quality managers and open, trusting communications within the hospitals.

Uninsured rural families.

CONTEXT: Although research shows higher uninsured rates among rural versus urban individuals, prior studies are limited because they do not examine coverage across entire rural families. PURPOSE: This study uses the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to compare rural and urban insurance coverage within families, to inform the design of coverage expansions that build on the current rural health insurance system. METHODS: We pooled the 2001 and 2002 MEPS Household Component survey, aggregated to the family level (excluding households with all members 65 and older). We examined (1) differences in urban, rural-adjacent, and rural nonadjacent family insurance coverage, and (2) the characteristics of rural families related to their patterns of coverage. FINDINGS: One out of 3 rural families has at least 1 uninsured member, a rate higher than for urban families-particularly in nonadjacent counties. Yet, three fourths of uninsured rural families have an insured member. For 42% of rural nonadjacent families, this is someone with public coverage (Medicaid/SCHIP or Medicare); urban families are more likely to have private health insurance or a private/public mix. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to expand family coverage through employers may be less effective among rural nonadjacent than urban families. Instead, expansions of public coverage or tax credits enabling entire families to purchase an individual/self-employment plan would better ensure that rural nonadjacent families achieve full coverage. Subsidies or incentives would need to be generous enough to make coverage affordable for the 52% of uninsured rural nonadjacent families living below 200% of the federal poverty level.

Bridging health research and policy: effective dissemination strategies.

UNLABELLED: INVESTIGATED: This study presents findings from a series of focus groups, composed of stakeholders both on Capitol Hill and among national stakeholder organizations, used to identify strategies health services researchers can use for the effective dissemination and expanded use of health services research in health policy. METHODS: Focus groups were created to assess the usefulness of rural health research products and approaches for disseminating information, and in each focus group, respondents were asked for their evaluation of several types of dissemination products and approaches, as well as participants' utilization of research findings. CONCLUSIONS: The focus groups identify strategies that include tailoring products to policymakers' needs, making Research products accessible, expanding working relationships with end users, and investing in greater capacity for dissemination. Implications are drawn for researchers who need to be proactive in thinking about the applications of their research to health policy, and who need to identify and seek resources to help them fund dissemination efforts.

What we know and do not know about tiered provider networks.

In response to continuing concerns about escalating health care costs and poor quality care, many health plans have adopted a strategy called "tiered provider networks." With TPNs, plans provide financial incentives for members to utilize hospitals, primary care physicians, and/or specialist physicians identified as performing especially well in terms of cost-efficient and/or high-quality care. The strategy is relatively new, and little is known about TPN structure, implementation, or operation. In this article, we present findings about tiered provider networks developed from a national survey of health plans and from interviews with health plan executives, their employer clients, and providers in their networks.

Out-of-pocket health spending and the rural underinsured.

Multiple studies have documented higher uninsurance rates among rural compared to urban residents, yet the relative adequacy of coverage among rural residents with private health insurance remains unclear. This study estimates underinsurance rates among privately insured rural residents (both adjacent and nonadjacent to urban areas) and the characteristics associated with rural underinsurance. We found that 6 percent of privately insured urban residents were underinsured; the rate increased to 10 percent for rural adjacent and 12 percent for rural nonadjacent residents. Multivariate analyses suggest that rural residents' underinsurance status is related to the design of the private plans through which they have coverage.

Prioritizing patient safety interventions in small and rural hospitals.

BACKGROUND: A study was conducted in 2004 to determine if 26 interventions--distributed among nine patient safety areas and as recommended by an expert panel as relevant to rural hospitals--would be validated in terms of relevance and implementability for small and rural facilities. METHODS: The chief executive officers (CEOs) and/or key managers responsible for patient safety activities in a diverse group of 29 small and rural hospitals assessed the potential effectiveness and feasibility of the 26 interventions. Representatives of 25 hospitals participated in structured, follow-up phone discussions. RESULTS: Adverse drug events were the highest-priority area for 14 hospitals, followed by patient falls (selected by 5 hospitals). Some hospitals had already implemented intervention 1 (use at least two patient identifiers) and intervention 6 (read back of verbal orders) and thus ranked them highly, especially for implementability. Intervention 3 (24-hour pharmacist coverage) was ranked low, especially on implementability. Interventions involving health information technology were ranked lower by the hospitals than by the expert panel. DISCUSSION: Safety interventions should reflect the general state of the science of safe practices while incorporating relevant contextual issues unique to rural hospitals. The results have important implications for survey and accreditation activity, and the focus of technical assistance and research efforts.

Understanding the impacts of the Medicare Modernization Act: concerns of congressional staff.

Sweeping changes to the Medicare program embodied in the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), including a new prescription drug benefit, changes in payment policies, and reform of the Medicare managed-care program, have major implications for rural health care. The most efficient mechanism for research to affect policy is to provide policy makers with information on issues about which they have voiced concern. The Rural Policy Research Institute's Health Panel conducted 2 focus groups with 16 congressional staff in September 2004 to identify a set of researchable questions concerning the impact of the MMA on rural health care. This paper presents research questions in the following areas that staff identified as having the highest priority: access to health plans and pharmacy services, beneficiary outreach and enrollment, technology capacity, provider payment policy, and demonstration projects.

Patterns of individual health insurance coverage, 1996-2000.

Information about patterns of individual health insurance coverage is limited. Knowledge gaps include the extent to which individual insurance provides transitional versus long-term coverage, and participants' insurance status before and after being covered by an individual plan. In this study we use data from the 1996-2000 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine how long the individually insured maintain their coverage; sources of coverage before and after enrolling in an individual health plan; and characteristics of those who rely on individual insurance coverage. Understanding the dynamics of this market will better inform federal and state insurance reform efforts.

Assuring rural hospital patient safety: what should be the priorities?

CONTEXT: Since reports on patient safety were issued by the Institute of Medicine, a number of interventions have been recommended and standards designed to improve hospital patient safety, including the Leapfrog, evidence-based safety standards. These standards are based on research conducted largely in urban hospitals, and it may not be possible to generalize them to rural hospitals. PURPOSE: The absence of rural-relevant patient safety standards and interventions may diminish purchaser and public perceptions of rural hospitals, further undermining the financial stability of rural hospitals. This study sought to assess the current evidence concerning rural hospital patient safety and to identify a set of rural-relevant patient safety interventions that the majority of small rural hospitals could readily implement and that rural hospitals, purchasers, consumers, and others would find relevant and useful. These interventions should help rural hospitals prioritize patient safety efforts. METHODS: As background, we reviewed literature; interviewed representatives of provider, payer, consumer, and governmental groups in 8 states; and calculated patient safety indicator rates in rural hospitals using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Health Care Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. Based on the research literature and patient safety recommendations from national organizations, we developed a list of potentially important patient safety areas for rural hospitals. The rural relevance of these safety interventions was evaluated by a national expert panel in terms of the frequency of the problem, ability to implement, and the internal and external value to rural providers, purchasers, and consumers. FINDINGS: The limited available research suggests that patient safety events and medical errors may be less likely to occur in rural than in urban hospitals. We identified 9 areas of patient safety and 26 priority patient safety interventions relevant to rural hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Many of the identified areas of patient safety and interventions are relevant to all types of hospitals, not just rural hospitals. However, some areas, such as transfers, are especially relevant to rural hospitals. The challenges of implementing some interventions, such as 24/7 pharmacy coverage, are significant given workforce supply and financial problems faced by many small rural hospitals. The results of this study provide an important platform for further work to test the validity and effectiveness of these interventions.

Comparative performance data for critical access hospitals.

CONTEXT: Among small rural hospitals, there is a growing recognition of the need to measure and report on the use of resources and the safety and quality of the services provided. Dashboards, clinical value compasses, and balanced scorecards are approaches to performance measurement that have been adopted by many health care organizations. However, there exists very little comparative performance data specific for critical access hospitals. PURPOSE: To identify how comparative performance data for critical access hospitals (CPD-CAH) might facilitate performance and quality improvement, to assess the potential benefits and drawbacks of such data, and to identify some of the critical issues in the development and implementation of CPD-CAH. METHODS: Assessment of discussions by participants at a rural hospital performance improvement summit and authors' analyses. FINDINGS: CPD-CAH potentially could improve quality of care and patient outcomes, provide comparative data and benchmarks, inform policy development, facilitate collaboration, and enhance community relations. However, CPD-CAH could also impose an unaffordable cost, produce poor information, require complex coordination, induce a negative public reaction, and result in perverse hospital behavior. Development and implementation of CPD-CAH would require including stakeholders' assessment of its desirability and feasibility, setting objectives, establishing guiding principles, developing a method, collecting and analyzing data, and disseminating results. CONCLUSIONS: CPD-CAH could significantly advance CAH performance and quality improvement. However, development and implementation would be a complicated exercise requiring academic expertise and practitioner consultation. The potential value of CPD-CAH should be carefully weighed against its potential cost.

Variations in nursing home discharge rates for urban and rural nursing facility residents with hip fracture.

CONTEXT: The more limited availability and use of community-based long-term care services in rural areas may be a factor in higher rates of nursing home use among rural residents. PURPOSE: This study examined differences in the rates of nursing home discharge for older adults receiving posthospital care in a nursing facility. METHODS: The study sample was comprised of a cohort of rural and urban residents newly admitted to nursing home care in Maine following surgery for hip fracture. FINDINGS: The results indicated that rural residents who were hospitalized for hip fracture and subsequently admitted to a nursing facility for rehabilitation were significantly less likely than urban residents to be discharged within the first 30 days of their admission. Rural residents who stayed in the nursing facility beyond 30 days were also less likely to be discharged in the first 6 months. These geographic differences were not explained by service use and resident characteristics such as age, health, or functional status. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of lower discharge rates among rural nursing facility residents appears to be consistent with previous studies demonstrating higher rates of nursing home use among rural residents. There continues to be a need for a better understanding of the role that service supply and accessibility and other factors play in the patterns and outcomes of rural long-term care.