Rural health care quality resources related to rural health and human services, with information provided by the Rural Assistance Center Copyright 2009 Rural Assistance Center http://www.raconline.org/info_guides/quality/ Funding to support Research Demonstration and Dissemination (R18) grant applications to implement safe practice interventions. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2267 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:02:59 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2267 The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the Safe Use Initiative, a new program aimed at reducing the likelihood of preventable harm from medication use. http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189100.htm Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:40:17 CST http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm189100.htm A new Commonwealth Fund survey of primary care physicians in 11 countries reveals that the United States lags far behind its peers in key measures of access, quality, and use of health ITundermining doctors' efforts to provide timely, high-quality care. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Nov/International-Survey-of-Primary-Care-Physicians-News-Release.aspx Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:21:59 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Nov/International-Survey-of-Primary-Care-Physicians-News-Release.aspx Associated Press article tells of a medical practice in a small Iowa community that has turned a doctor's office into a "medical home," an experiment that policymakers from President Barack Obama on down have praised as key to getting better quality without costly complications. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeuQbQBHj_aFElVBxtdlwEsNX5kwD9BK865O0 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:17:28 CST http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeuQbQBHj_aFElVBxtdlwEsNX5kwD9BK865O0 PRWeb article reports that the clock is ticking for tens of thousands of heart patients in rural America as a looming federal government decision that is only days away could take away their access to quality cardiac care. http://www.prweb.com/releases/cardiology/medicare/prweb3109854.htm Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:48:31 CST http://www.prweb.com/releases/cardiology/medicare/prweb3109854.htm Ergonomics Today article reports that Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has introduced legislation that would establish standards for safe patient handling and injury prevention for health care workers. http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2394 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:23:56 CST http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=2394 Indicates that Critical Access Hospitals continue to be actively involved in a wide range of quality improvement initiatives, with patient safety and medication safety in particular as major areas of focus. -- Flex Monitoring Team http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper18_QualityReport2007.pdf Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:20:28 CST http://www.flexmonitoring.org/documents/BriefingPaper18_QualityReport2007.pdf Funding for demonstration projects to allow States and health care systems to develop, implement and evaluate medical liability models that put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2264 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:13:21 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2264 Funding for planning grants from States and health care systems for patient safety and medical liability innovations that put patient safety first and work to reduce preventable injuries. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2263 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:03:09 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2263 Details promising practices tested by nine participating health plans from the Center for Health Care Strategies: Collaborative on Improving Managed Care Quality for Youth with Serious Behavioral Health Needs. -- Annie E. Casey Foundation http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/Improving_Medicaid_Managed_Care_for_Youth_with_Serious_Behavioral_Health_Needs_Toolkit.pdf Wed, 21 Oct 2009 10:24:34 CST http://www.chcs.org/usr_doc/Improving_Medicaid_Managed_Care_for_Youth_with_Serious_Behavioral_Health_Needs_Toolkit.pdf Funding to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policymakers. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2260 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:49 CST http://www.raconline.org/funding/funding_details.php?funding_id=2260 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts today announced the launch of the Health Impact Project, a national initiative designed to promote the use of health impact assessments (HIAs) as a decision-making tool for policy-makers. http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=50149 Tue, 20 Oct 2009 10:39:24 CST http://www.rwjf.org/newsroom/product.jsp?id=50149 Illustrates how Marshfield Clinic serving rural Wisconsin can improve patient outcomes andreduce costs by undertaking a population-based approach to ambulatory care managementsupported by information technology. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Aug/1293_McCarthy_Marshfield_case_study.pdf Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:49:57 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Case%20Study/2009/Aug/1293_McCarthy_Marshfield_case_study.pdf Rockville MD November 13, 2009 -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24885.htm Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:31:40 CST http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24885.htm This notice announces a meeting of the National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality to be held on Friday, November 13, 2009, inRockville, Maryland 20850. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24885.htm Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:57:29 CST http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24885.htm Newswise article reports that people who live in rural areas may run a greater risk of having perforated appendix than those in suburban and urban areas, according to a new study out of Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, NH. http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/556773/?sc=rsmn Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:17:54 CST http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/556773/?sc=rsmn Newswise article reports that telemedicine can help health care providers in rural areas stabilize and treat trauma victims when long distances or inclement weather prevents immediate transfer to an accredited trauma center. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167245.php Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:58:17 CST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167245.php Provides in-depth quality evaluation and improvement programs for Medicare. Offers expert consulting resources and tools to hospitals, physicians and nursing homes. http://www.ofmq.com/ Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:41:59 CST http://www.ofmq.com/ An interactive U.S. map to view state-specific rankings and results compared to benchmarks, and to view the number of lives and dollars each state could save by achieving benchmark levels of performance. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Charts-and-Maps/State-Scorecard-2009.aspx Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:16:46 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Charts-and-Maps/State-Scorecard-2009.aspx The Dartmouth Atlas project is a funded research effort of the faculty of the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School. The Atlas project brings together researchers in diverse disciplines - including epidemiology, economics, and statistics - and focuses on the accurate description of how medical resources are distributed and used in the United States. -- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:10:40 CST http://www.dartmouthatlas.org/ Provides consumers with information on how well hospitals care for patients with heart attacks, heart failure, or pneumonia. -- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:47:41 CST http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/ AHRQ is requesting nominations to the Council, to advise the Secretary of HHS and the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on matters related to activities of the Agency to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24306.htm Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:09:24 CST http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-24306.htm The cost and quality of health care, as well as access to care and health outcomes, continue to vary widely among states, according to the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System's second state scorecard report released today. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Oct/New-State-Health-Care-Scorecard-Finds-Wide-Differences.aspx Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:23:37 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/News/News-Releases/2009/Oct/New-State-Health-Care-Scorecard-Finds-Wide-Differences.aspx A summary of a report on a specific quality concern - patient safety. Discusses types of errors that occur in hospitals and strategies for improving patient safety. -- Institute of Medicine http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728 Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:32:42 CST http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728 Leaders at health care innovation organizations nationwide, including rural, share perspectives about how their centers operate, the objectives they are pursuing, and some of the challenges they face. -- California HealthCare Foundation http://www.chcf.org/documents/hospitals/InnovationCenters.pdf Mon, 14 Sep 2009 17:02:58 CST http://www.chcf.org/documents/hospitals/InnovationCenters.pdf Includes a national overview of disparities in health care, including quality of care and access to health care. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/nhdr08.pdf Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:13:21 CST http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr08/nhdr08.pdf Provides reports from quality research in formats for consumers, clinicians, and policymakers. Several resources are available in Spanish. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:50:47 CST http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/index.cfm Discusses how Medicaid and CHIP have strong foundational bases to develop policies that support medical homes and achieve the goals of quality improvement and cost containment. -- Commonwealth Fund http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2009/Jun/Building%20Medical%20Homes%20in%20State%20Medicaid%20and%20CHIP%20Programs/medicalhomesfinal_revised.pdf Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:16:50 CST http://www.commonwealthfund.org/~/media/Files/Publications/Fund%20Report/2009/Jun/Building%20Medical%20Homes%20in%20State%20Medicaid%20and%20CHIP%20Programs/medicalhomesfinal_revised.pdf Results of a systematic review on the characteristics of community health workers (CHWs) and CHW interventions, outcomes of such interventions, costs and cost-effectiveness of CHW interventions, and characteristics of CHW training. Includes references to rural. -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/comhealthwork/comhwork.pdf Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:39:16 CST http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/evidence/pdf/comhealthwork/comhwork.pdf This fact sheet discusses differences between groups in terms of relative rates, which is the ratio of the comparison group (e.g., Black) to a baseline group (e.g., White). -- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqrdr08/nhqrdrchild08.htm Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:15:57 CST http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhqrdr08/nhqrdrchild08.htm