The American Rural Health Care System

Download or read book Rural Health in the United States written by Thomas C. Ricketts and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1999-10-07 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of the 61 million people who live in rural America have limited access to health care. Almost a quarter of the nation's population lives in rural places yet only an eighth of our doctors work there. Sponsored by the U.S. Office of Rural Health Policy, this unique book provides the facts about this imbalance and interprets them in the context of government programs that promote the placement of doctors and the operation of hospitals in rural places while paying them less to treat Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The authors' comprehensive analysis of rural health care delivery shows where there are differences in rates of death and disease between rural areas using maps, graphs, and plain-English descriptions. The book provides a thorough look at health care in rural America, giving a snapshot of how doctors, hospitals, and technology are unevenly distributed outside the nation's metropolitan areas.

Download or read book Quality Through Collaboration written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2005-04-24 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on the innovative Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human and Crossing the Quality Chasm, Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health offers a strategy to address the quality challenges in rural communities. Rural America is a vital, diverse component of the American community, representing nearly 20% of the population of the United States. Rural communities are heterogeneous and differ in population density, remoteness from urban areas, and the cultural norms of the regions of which they are a part. As a result, rural communities range in their demographics and environmental, economic, and social characteristics. These differences influence the magnitude and types of health problems these communities face. Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health assesses the quality of health care in rural areas and provides a framework for core set of services and essential infrastructure to deliver those services to rural communities. The book recommends: Adopting an integrated approach to addressing both personal and population health needs Establishing a stronger health care quality improvement support structure to assist rural health systems and professionals Enhancing the human resource capacity of health care professionals in rural communities and expanding the preparedness of rural residents to actively engage in improving their health and health care Assuring that rural health care systems are financially stable Investing in an information and communications technology infrastructure It is critical that existing and new resources be deployed strategically, recognizing the need to improve both the quality of individual-level care and the health of rural communities and populations.

Download or read book Achieving Rural Health Equity and Well-Being written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-10-17 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rural counties make up about 80 percent of the land area of the United States, but they contain less than 20 percent of the U.S. population. The relative sparseness of the population in rural areas is one of many factors that influence the health and well-being of rural Americans. Rural areas have histories, economies, and cultures that differ from those of cities and from one rural area to another. Understanding these differences is critical to taking steps to improve health and well-being in rural areas and to reduce health disparities among rural populations. To explore the impacts of economic, demographic, and social issues in rural communities and to learn about asset-based approaches to addressing the associated challenges, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine held a workshop on June 13, 2017. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Download or read book The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-12-20 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1996, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report Telemedicine: A Guide to Assessing Telecommunications for Health Care. In that report, the IOM Committee on Evaluating Clinical Applications of Telemedicine found telemedicine is similar in most respects to other technologies for which better evidence of effectiveness is also being demanded. Telemedicine, however, has some special characteristics-shared with information technologies generally-that warrant particular notice from evaluators and decision makers. Since that time, attention to telehealth has continued to grow in both the public and private sectors. Peer-reviewed journals and professional societies are devoted to telehealth, the federal government provides grant funding to promote the use of telehealth, and the private technology industry continues to develop new applications for telehealth. However, barriers remain to the use of telehealth modalities, including issues related to reimbursement, licensure, workforce, and costs. Also, some areas of telehealth have developed a stronger evidence base than others. The Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) sponsored the IOM in holding a workshop in Washington, DC, on August 8-9 2012, to examine how the use of telehealth technology can fit into the U.S. health care system. HRSA asked the IOM to focus on the potential for telehealth to serve geographically isolated individuals and extend the reach of scarce resources while also emphasizing the quality and value in the delivery of health care services. This workshop summary discusses the evolution of telehealth since 1996, including the increasing role of the private sector, policies that have promoted or delayed the use of telehealth, and consumer acceptance of telehealth. The Role of Telehealth in an Evolving Health Care Environment: Workshop Summary discusses the current evidence base for telehealth, including available data and gaps in data; discuss how technological developments, including mobile telehealth, electronic intensive care units, remote monitoring, social networking, and wearable devices, in conjunction with the push for electronic health records, is changing the delivery of health care in rural and urban environments. This report also summarizes actions that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can undertake to further the use of telehealth to improve health care outcomes while controlling costs in the current health care environment.

Download or read book Health care in rural America written by and published by National Academies. This book was released on 1990 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rural Public Health written by K. Bryant Smalley, PhD, PsyD and published by Springer Publishing Company. This book was released on 2014-01-14 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "[A] welcome addition to the rural health care practitioner's tool kit. It will energize those interested in vulnerable rural residents and their unique characteristics through a public health perspective... Highly recommended."--CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries "This call to action for healthcare providers is a comprehensive review of issues in rural healthcare, including both obstacles and ways to begin to overcome them. It is easy to read... This enjoyable book encourages healthcare providers working or considering working in rural healthcare with clear direction."--Doody's Medical Reviews "The Warren & Smalley book is an excellent look at the challenges while also presenting solutions and hope. It recognizes the medical challenges that are present and the cost of bring medical care to these communities... There is so much in this book that will be refreshing and encouraging. The book needs to be read. It is also a book that needs to be placed in the hands of the movers and shakers, as well other interested parties who are in a position to 'make this happen.'" -- Illness, Crisis & Loss Rural residents face distinct health challenges due to economic conditions, cultural/behavioral factors, and health provider shortages that combine to impose striking disparities in health outcomes among rural populations. This comprehensive text about the issues of rural public health is the only book to focus on rural health from the perspectives of public health and prevention. It covers specific diseases and disorders faced by rural populations, service delivery challenges, practitioner shortfalls in rural areas, and promising community health approaches and preventive measures. The text also addresses rural health care ethics and international perspectives. Nearly all chapters offer best practice recommendations and evidence-based prevention programs. This book is a cohesive, centralized resource for researchers, public health practitioners, health organizations, and graduate education programs that focus on the public health of rural populations. Key Features: Comprises the only text to address rural health from the perspectives of public health and prevention Includes best practice recommendations and evidence-based prevention programs in each chapter Presents a cohesive, expansive synthesis of current research and practice Addresses specific diseases and disorders of rural populations, service delivery problems, and practitioner shortfalls in rural areas Discusses promising community health approaches and preventative measures

Download or read book Increasing Access to Health Workers in Remote and Rural Areas Through Improved Retention written by World Health Organization and published by World Health Organization. This book was released on 2010 with total page 79 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Accompanying CD-Rom has same title as book.