[article abstract]: In response to continuing concerns about escalating health care costs and poor quality care, many health plans have adopted a strategy called
The RALA tools were developed using an evidence-informed framework and substantial input from rural residents, and were designed to balance the needs of practitioners (e.g., user-friendliness) and researchers (e.g., reliable measures). The modules capture specific physical activity amenities, programs and policies, as well as built environment features. The tools include: The RALA Codebook, Town-wide Assessment Tool, Program and Policy Tool, and Segment Tool. The RALA Codebook provides users with a practical and simple guide for implementing the tool in rural communities across the U.S. The development of the tools is described in Yousefian, et al. (2010, January). Development of the rural active living assessment tools: Measuring rural environments. Preventive Medicine, 50(Supplement 1), S86-S92.
This study examined changes in the delivery of mental health services by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), their operational characteristics, barriers to the development of services, and policy options to encourage more RHCs to deliver mental health services.
The traditional, film-based radiology system presents serious limitations for patient care. These include forcing clinicians to make decisions based on information that is often less than optimal and making transfers of films and prior studies to other facilities more complicated than they need to be. Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) address these issues by allowing for acquisition, storage, display, and communication (e.g., transportation) of images in a digital format. Although PACS has been shown to improve patient care, many rural health care organizations have found obtaining these systems cost-prohibitive. The Consolidating Imaging Initiative (CI-PACS) in Maine provides an alternative way to offer this technology to rural hospitals. Through CI-PACS, a tertiary care hospital and its health care system have implemented a shared, standards-based, interoperable PACS in two rural hospitals (one belonging to the larger health system and one not). In this article, we discuss how the regional system works, and how it will be sustained. We also highlight the unique challenges associated with implementing a regional system.
The Tennessee Rural Hospital Patient Safety Demonstration Project sought to improve patient safety in small rural facilities by strengthening their capacity to implement priority patient safety interventions. The project focused on interventions relevant to the core services and capacities of rural hospitals and was sensitive to their structure and processes. A process for assessing the status of hospital patient safety programs and providing technical assistance tools, and resources was developed. Organizational and clinical changes designed to prevent errors and improve safety were initiated. Eight participating hospitals completed a self-assessment tool to identify and prioritize rural hospital patient safety interventions. These hospitals implemented three interventions: assessment of patient safety culture and implementation of a safety culture plan, development and implementation of emergency department protocols, and use of personal digital assistant devices (PDAs) by clinicians at the point of care to decrease medication errors.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation contracted with the University of Southern Maine's Muskie School of Public Service to evaluate the community outreach and training efforts of the Early Detection and Intervention for the Prevention of Psychosis Program (EDIPPP). This report provides a brief description of program, the evaluation methodology, and preliminary results from the first two years of the evaluation. The evaluation includes an assessment of: 1) implementation efforts across five demonstration sites, 2) contextual factors that may influence outreach efforts, and 3) specific outcomes related to the education and outreach activities.
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