- Colorectal Cancer Is Rising among Younger Adults. Some States Want to Boost Awareness.
- Rural Hospitals Built During Baby Boom Now Face Baby Bust
- Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs
- CMS Announces Resources and Flexibilities to Assist with the Public Health Emergency in the State of Texas
- CMS Proposes New Payments for Digital Health Under CY2025 PFS Draft Rule
- Improving Public Health by Strengthening Community Infrastructure
- Biden Harris Administration Proposes Policies to Reduce Maternal Mortality, Advance Health Equity, and Support Underserved Communities
- Nearly Half of U.S. Counties Don't Have a Single Cardiologist
- Randolph County, Ill. Turns Unused Part of Nursing Home Into State-Of-The-Art Behavioral Health Center
- Safe and Stable Housing Is a Foundation of Successful Recovery
- Rural RPM Program Is a Lifeline for Pregnant Women
- Expert: Rural Hospitals Are Particularly Vulnerable to Increasing Cyberattacks Targeting Healthcare Facilities
- Biden-Harris Administration Invests Over $200 Million to Help Primary Care Doctors, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Improve Care for Older Adults
- AJPH Call for Papers Special Section on Intersections of Public Health And Primary Care
- NIH HEAL Initiative Turns Attention to Pragmatic Trials in Rural Communities
Ensuring a More Accurate Rural Count for the 2020 Census
As the effort to count every resident in the United States begins, the Urban Institute provides data on rural populations living in hard-to-count areas and steps for achieving a more accurate count. Population counts from the U.S. Census are used to allocate federal funding, provide data for research and policy-making, and plan economic development, among countless other needs for quality of life. In addition to traditional challenges to counting in rural areas – remote homes, migrant workers, literacy – the 2020 Census will add a digital response option and many rural areas have low rates of internet access at home. More information is available by clicking here.
Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care
An examination of the cost and utilization of alternative payment models for oral health care over a patient’s lifetime.
By Sean G. Boynes, DMD, MS, Carolyn Brown, DDS, MEd and Eric P. Tranby, MA, PhD
According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, the United States pays the most for health care and achieves the lowest performance among comparable countries.1,2 In fact, dissatisfaction with U.S. health care continues to shape political talking points. It also encourages disruptive business models and drives demand for greater transparency, accountability and consumerism.3–6 This changing health ecosystem also affects dentistry. Agencies, organizations and care teams are shifting operational and financial constructs to better align with the changing health care landscape. Currently, the transition includes a switch from a silo-based construct driven by tertiary care to a person-centered format based on inclusive, holistic health care and enhanced quality of life.7–11
Continue reading “Exploring Alternative Payment Models for Oral Health Care”
Oral health assessment of children in rural Pa. demonstrates disparities
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — While the overall supply of dentists in Pennsylvania is sufficient to meet the current demand when assuming equal access for all residents, geographic access to oral health services is not equal across rural and urban areas. In a report, researchers in the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (PORH) at Penn State found that urban rates of dentist supply are nearly twice that of rural rates, and that inequalities exist between areas of higher socioeconomic status and those of lower socioeconomic status.
Continue reading “Oral health assessment of children in rural Pa. demonstrates disparities”
Rural Areas Hope to Get More From National Service Programs
Rural residents, who are overrepresented in the military, are less likely to volunteer for national service programs like AmeriCorps, advocates say. Meanwhile, volunteers from cities and suburbs tend to prefer urban or international postings.
Modern National Resource Allocation System
Our Healthcare Systems Bureau issued a Request for Information (RFI) November 14th to conduct market research as part of HHS’ commitment to optimize the transplant system and ensure that organs are allocated as efficiently as possible. The RFI seeks information about current and potential IT infrastructures for allocating organs and performing related functions such as patient and donor data management.
As part of that market research, we are seeking information on (1) more effective ways modern IT systems may be able to allocate organs and manage patient and donor data on a national scale; and (2) entities that are capable of developing a system that may be more effective than the one we have today.
We are interested in hearing from all sources, both non-profit and for-profit, to leverage innovation from across all fields and industries.
Prevention X
The HHS Office of the Chief Technology Officer has issued a Request for Information on PreventionX, which will inform how HHS could catalyze the scaling and deployment of effective prevention strategies into today’s social and economic environment. Responses will be accepted until December 13, 2019.
HRSA Strategy to Address Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
We are seeking information about how the agency could sustain activities described in the HRSA Strategy to Address Intimate Partner Violence, 2017-2020 and/or begin new initiatives to address intimate partner violence in communities served by HRSA programs.
Specifically, we are seeking responses to the “Questions for Public Comment” section of our Request for Information. These responses may inform our decision making related to planning future initiatives.
Comments are due by 11:59 pm ET on December 9.
New Technical Assistance Summary on HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Response to the Opioid Epidemic
To better understand the impact of the opioid epidemic on the HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) hosted a technical expert panel on the “Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Response to the Opioid Epidemic” and developed an executive summary and new technical assistance document.
The panel convened program recipients and other experts to discuss the intersection of the program and the opioid epidemic and how services for people with HIV who have a substance use disorder could be bolstered to improve health outcomes. The technical assistance document provides examples from the expert panel and follow-up phone interviews with panel participants. It also highlights how Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program providers address clients’ behavioral health needs, including those related to substance use.
Read the summary (PDF – 173 KB).
Health Professionals Receive Free MAT Training, DATA 2000 Waivers
HRSA’s National Health Service Corps (NHSC) has teamed up with SAMHSA’s Provider Clinical Support System (PCSS) to connect qualified medical and behavioral health providers to free Medication-Assisted Treatment training, professional development resources, and an opportunity to obtain the DATA 2000 Waiver. The collaboration helps increase access to quality substance use disorder and opioid use disorder treatment in hard hit rural and underserved communities throughout the U.S.
World AIDS Day is December 1
On December 1st, we commemorate World AIDS Day. The 2019 theme is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Community by Community.” The purpose of World AIDS Day is to bring attention to the HIV epidemic, endeavor to increase HIV awareness and knowledge, show support and commitment to helping those living with the disease, and remember those who have died from HIV/AIDS in our country and around the world.
HIV has transformed from what was once a deadly disease to now a manageable, chronic condition if there is access to high-quality health care, critical support services, and appropriate medications. People with HIV who take HIV medication daily as prescribed and reach and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner.
This World AIDS Day, HRSA remains committed to ending the HIV epidemic. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration announced the “Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America” (EHE) initiative. Through HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and the HRSA-funded Health Center Program, the agency will play a leading role in helping diagnose, treat, prevent and respond to end the HIV epidemic. Learn more about HRSA’s role in the initiative.