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Survey Finds Widespread Dissatisfaction with Current Health Care Payment System; Fee-for-Service Not Effective, Experts Say
Nov 4, 2008 -- The latest Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey reports that more than two-thirds (69%) of respondents expressed strong dissatisfaction with the current system, which is generally based on "fee-for-service" payment, saying the current system is not effective in encouraging high quality and efficient care.
CMS Announces Plans to Bolster Quality of Care in Hospital Outpatient Departments
Oct 31, 2008 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced plans to strengthen the tie between the quality of care furnished to people with Medicare in hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) and the payments hospitals receive for those services.
Ten Extraordinary Americans Recognized for Local Innovation in Improving Health and Health Care
Oct 30, 2008 -- CNBC article reports that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation announced Winners of the 2008 Community Health Leaders Award that honors unrecognized individuals who overcome daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for underserved men, women and children in communities across the United States.
New AMA Survey Highlights Need to Improve Medicare's PQRI
Oct 30, 2008 -- American Medical Association (AMA) discusses how key elements of Medicare's Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) must be improved so that physicians can successfully participate and use the information to increase the quality of patient care.
HealthPartners and American Hospital Association Partner for National Launch of Joining Forces
Oct 30, 2008 -- HealthPartners Institute for Medical Education and the American Hospital Association (AHA) have partnered with more than a dozen national organizations to launch an initiative designed to generate awareness among medical professionals and others within communities about the challenges --medical, social and emotional -- that veterans and their families face as they return home from military service.
Rural Dental Care: The Younger, the Better
Oct 29, 2008 -- Daily Yonder article discuss the reasons why poor rural children do not receive dental exams and treatment even with free dental insurance.
Rural Delivery: Health Care Lessons from North Dakota
Oct 28, 2008 -- The Commonwealth Fund interviews Dr. Mary Wakefield, director of the Center for Rural Health at the University of North Dakota's School of Medicine and Health Sciences, about some of the innovations North Dakota has used to improve health care delivery, how these strategies might translate to other settings, and what the next presidential administration must do to ensure health care quality and access for all Americans.
IT Outsourcing Could Benefit Rural Hospitals
Oct 24, 2008 -- HULIQ, (NC) article discusses how a case study conducted by researchers in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology that shows that smaller hospitals may be able to benefit by sharing an IT infrastructure with larger hospitals in the same geographic area.
Reports Examine Rising Health Insurance Premiums by State
Oct 24, 2008 -- AHA News reports that Families USA has released a series of state-specific reports showing the rising cost of health insurance premiums compared with median family income.
Moran's Rural Veterans Legislation Signed Into Law
Oct 23, 2008 -- KSALLink.com, (KS) article reports legislation sponsored by Jerry Moran to provide more health care opportunities for veterans living in rural areas has been signed into law.
Prescription for Change
Oct 22, 2008 -- Wall Street Journal article discusses how the health-care industry is about to undergo a global revolution driven by a force it can no longer resist: information technology.
Community Centers Fill Health-care Gap
Oct 22, 2008 -- The Journal News, (NY) article tells how small-business owners, young workers, the self-employed and now the recently unemployed are going to community health centers, which were created in the 1970s to increase access to primary-care doctors in poor urban and rural communities.
Co-ops Emerge to Buy Group Health Insurance
Oct 22, 2008 -- BusinessNorth.com, (MN) article tells how health insurance purchasing cooperatives, as small as one person in a business, are forming in Wisconsin to collectively negotiate with insurance companies.
More than 2 Million Children with Insured Parents Are Uninsured; Most Are Low or Middle Income
Oct 22, 2008 -- Some 2.3 million children a year, mostly from low-to middle-income families, have no health care coverage to pay for preventive or other medical needs, even though at least one of their parents is insured, according to a new study supported by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Center for Research Resources.
States See Rising Enrollment in Medicaid as Economy Falters
Oct 20, 2008 -- With states confronting a weakening economy, enrollment in Medicaid began to rise last year with states expecting even larger increases for fiscal year 2009, according to a new 50-state survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU).
Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization (HCFO)
Application deadline: Applications accepted on an ongoing basis.
Supports policy analysis, research, evaluation and demonstration projects on health care policy and financing issues.
Healthy Start Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health (Border and Alaska)
Geographic Coverage: Alaska and U.S.-Mexican border states
Application deadline: Dec 5, 2008
The purpose of this program is to address significant disparities in perinatal health including disparities experienced by Hispanics, American Indians, African-Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and immigrant populations.
Healthy Start Initiative-Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities
Application deadline: Dec 5, 2008
Under this program, grants will be awarded to address significant disparities in perinatal health indicators.
Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program
Application deadline: Dec 12, 2008
The program's purpose is to expand the pool of students of color interested in the field of health policy.
Public Health Practice: Evaluating the Impact of Quality Improvement
Application deadline: Dec 16, 2008
Funding to increasing the successful application of quality improvement (QI) methods in health departments.
Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program
Application deadline: Jan 15, 2009
An advanced leadership program for nurses in senior executive roles in health services, public health and nursing education.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program
Application deadline: Feb 11, 2009
Funding to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty.
2009 Harvard Senior Executives in State and Local Government Fellowship Program
Application deadline: Feb 14, 2009
Eight senior fire executives will be awarded fellowships to attend Harvard's annual Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
Indian Health Service Dental Externships
Application deadline: Feb 28, 2009
Externships to dental students interested in a career with the Indian Health Service Division of Oral Health or a Tribal site.
Asian/Pacific Islanders and Cardiovascular Diseases: Statistics
Outlines the leading causes of death among Asian/Pacific Islander men and women.
Organization: American Heart Association
Date: 2008
Bridging the Care Gap: Using Web Technology for Patient Referrals
Explains how some health care providers are adopting an approach known as "e-referral" for patients needing referrals for specialty or follow-up care. Includes rural example.
Organization: California HealthCare Foundation
Date: 09 / 2008
Child Health and Well-Being Differ for Metro and Nonmetro Low-Income Households
Provides a comparison of the data and statistics regarding the health and well-being of children associated with low levels of household income in both metro and non-metro area.
Organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 11 / 2008
Critical Access Hospital Year 3 Hospital Compare Participation and Quality Measure Results (Policy Brief)
This Policy Brief (#8) examines the third year participation and quality measure results for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare public reporting database.
Organization: Flex Monitoring Team
Date: 09 / 2008
Electronic Health Records Adoption: Rural Providers’ Decision-Making Process
Examines the decision-making process that small rural physician clinics and hospitals use as they investigate and select an electronic health record (EHR) system.
Organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 10 / 2008
Health and Longevity: A Regional Overview
Examines health and longevity for states in the western region.
Organization: Western Rural Development Center
Date: 2008
Hispanics/Latinos and Cardiovascular Diseases: Statistics
Outlines the causes of death among Hispanic/Latino men and women.
Organization: American Heart Association
Date: 2008
HIT Helps With Nurse Retention
Identifies how health information technology and other measures are helping hospitals keep their nurses.
Organization: Healthcare Leadership Council
Date: 09 / 2008
Low-Wage Workers and Health Care
A survey brief that looks at America’s low-wage workers and their experiences paying for and accessing health care.
Organization: Kaiser Family Foundation
Date: 10 / 2008
Medicare Physician Payment Policy and the Rural Perspective
Reports on a six year study by the RUPRI Center on the effects of Medicare payment changes on rural physician practice revenue.
Organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 11 / 2008
Rural America At A Glance, 2008
Highlights the social and economic conditions in rural areas for use in developing policies and programs to assist rural areas. This edition focuses on employment, poverty, population change, and demographic characteristics of nonmetro areas.
Organization: USDA Economic Research Service
Date: 10 / 2008
States Moving Toward Comprehensive Health Care Reform
Summaries of state health care reform initiatives with the goal of increasing the number of people with health care coverage. These summaries will be updated as new developments occur.
Organization: Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured
Date: 10 / 2008
The Changing West: A Regional Overview
Provides baseline data for identifying population changes in the western states for use in advancing rural development.
Organization: Western Rural Development Center
Date: 2008
Trends in Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening Practices Among Women in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States (Policy Brief)
Documents the receipt of timely breast and cervical cancer screening using a rural-urban classification system and nationally representative data.
Organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Date: 08 / 2008
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
A searchable database of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR); the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
Organization: U.S. Government Printing Office
HomeTown Competitiveness
Provides a framework for rural communities to help them identify reachable goals and strategies focused on the four strategies of reversing rural decline: leadership, youth, entrepreneurship and charitable assets.
Organization: W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Joining Forces
Offers recorded video broadcasts that provide information that physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and others can use to understand and meet the needs of returning veterans and their families. Physicians can view programs for CME credits.
Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow: Developing Leadership Potential
Curriculum designed for use as a comprehensive, multiple session leadership training program, taught by Penn State Cooperative Extension educators, however individual modules can be used for "stand alone" leadership training within existing groups or organizations.
Organization: Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension
Physical Activity and Healthy Eating for Rural Young and Adult Women
Resources to encourage women living in rural areas to increase current levels of physical activity, healthy eating, and communication with their health care providers to set goals for behavioral changes.
Organization: HRSA Office of Women's Health
Call for Abstracts: 3rd National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health.
Deadline: Nov 18, 2008
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Event dates: Feb 25 - 27, 2009
National Harbor, MD
Conference Website
Call for Abstracts: Collaborating Across Borders II
Deadline: Dec 8, 2008
Event dates: May 20 - 22, 2009
Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada
Conference Website
Call for Abstracts: 5th International Rural Nursing Conference
Deadline: Dec 14, 2008
Rural Nurse Organization
Event dates: Jun 4 - 5, 2009
Boise, ID
Conference Website
Call for Speaker Proposals: 12th Annual Indiana Rural Health Conference
Deadline: Dec 19, 2008
Indiana Rural Health Association
Event dates: Jun 9 - 11, 2009
Indianapolis, IN
Conference Website
Call for Abstracts: 9th WONCA Rural Health World 2009 Conference
Deadline: Jan 20, 2009
Event dates: Jun 12 - 14, 2009
Heraklion, Crete Greece
Conference Website
Call for Abstracts: 36th Annual Professional Nurse Educators Group Conference
Deadline: Jan 26, 2009
Event dates: Oct 1 - 4, 2009
Rochester, MN
Conference Website
Call for Presentations: The Clock is Ticking for Rural America: A Behavioral Health & Safety Conference
Deadline: Feb 28, 2009
AgriWellness, Inc.
Event dates: Aug 3 - 5, 2009
Sioux Falls, SD
Conference Website
| Nov 6, 2008 | Lessons From the Field of Emergency Preparedness |
| Nov 6, 2008 | Special Open Door Forum: Medicare Coverage of Kidney Disease Patient Education Services |
| Nov 6 - 7, 2008 | Meeting of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) |
| Nov 7, 2008 | Meeting of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality |
| Nov 8, 2008 | Time Out for Veterans Health |
| Nov 8, 2008 | Train for Public Health Emergency Ground Zero |
| Nov 10, 2008 | ORCA Rural Policy Workshop |
| Nov 11, 2008 | Kids Aren't the Only Ones Who Need Immunizations: Tetanus Protection Among Aging Farmers |
| Nov 11, 2008 | Public Health Cafe - Children and Environment Health |
| Nov 11 - 12, 2008 | Small and Rural Hospital Conference |
| Nov 12, 2008 | 2008 OMMH National Health Disparities Conference |
| Nov 12, 2008 | Other Part A and Part B Providers: ICD-10-CM/PCS National Provider Conference Calls With Question & Answer Session |
| Nov 12, 2008 | Reclaiming Our Communities: Reducing Drug Use in Rural Pennsylvania |
| Nov 12, 2008 | Special Open Door Forum: Part A Providers, Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) |
| Nov 12 - 16, 2008 | 2008 Virginia EMS Symposium |
| Nov 13, 2008 | Communicating Effectively with Healthcare Professionals |
| Nov 13, 2008 | Rural Health Care Program Outreach Conference Call |
| Nov 13, 2008 | Special Open Door Forum: Part B Providers, Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) |
| Nov 13 - 14, 2008 | KHA Annual Convention and Trade Show |
| Nov 13 - 14, 2008 | Notice of a Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice |
| Nov 17, 2008 | CMS Hospital/Hospital Quality Open Door Forum |
| Nov 17, 2008 | Physicians: ICD-10-CM/PCS National Provider Conference Calls With Question & Answer Session |
| Nov 17 - 18, 2008 | Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry |
| Nov 17 - 21, 2008 | Addressing the Psychological Health of Warriors and Their Families: PTSD, Depression and TBI |
| Nov 18, 2008 | Minnesota Trauma Managers Seminar |
| Nov 18, 2008 | Physicians, Nurses & Allied Health Professionals Open Door Forum |
| Nov 18 - 19, 2008 | Meeting of the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health |
| Nov 18 - 19, 2008 | NARHC 2008 Fall Institute with Annual Meeting |
| Nov 19 - 20, 2008 | 14th Annual Conference, “Rural Connections 2008: Health Partners in Concert” |
| Nov 20, 2008 | Rural Ambulance Budget Model Workshop |
| Nov 20 - 21, 2008 | Midwest Rural and Agricultural Safety and Health Forum |
| Nov 24, 2008 | Training for the Medicare Part B Drugs Competitive Acquisition Program (CAP) |
| Dec 1 - 3, 2008 | 2008 Alaska Health Summit |
| Dec 1 - 3, 2008 | California Rural Health Association 8th Annual Conference |
| Dec 2, 2008 | Public Health Cafe -The Basics of Grantwriting |
| Dec 2 - 3, 2008 | Delta RHPI Rural Hospital Performance Improvement Workshop |
| Dec 4, 2008 | Toddler Tooth Decay: The Silent Epidemic |
| Dec 4 - 5, 2008 | 20th Annual Gerontological Nursing Conference |
| Dec 9, 2008 | Medicare Value-Based Purchasing Program for Physician and Other Professional Services Listening Session |
| Dec 10, 2008 | TeamSTEPPS Webinar #6 |
| Dec 11, 2008 | Rural Health Care Program Outreach Conference Call |
| Dec 11 - 12, 2008 | Rural Minority & Multicultural Health Conference |
| Dec 15 - 16, 2008 | 2008 LRHA Annual Fall Conference |
| Dec 16, 2008 | Public Health Cafe - Chronic Disease Management |
| Dec 16 - 18, 2008 | NIH Summit: The Science of Eliminating Health Disparities |
| Dec 18, 2008 | Listening Session on Hospital-Acquired Conditions in Inpatient Settings and Hospital Outpatient Healthcare-Associated Conditions in Outpatient Settings |
| Jan 4, 2009 | CAH Educational Program |
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