MHA's Center for Rural Health

AHA urges panel to support data communications standard, rural networks

The American Hospital Association on Jan. 24 urged a Federal Communications Commission advisory committee to recommend that Congress and federal agencies prioritize the establishment of a single standard for health information capture and exchange, and complete the deployment of broadband and wireless networks in rural areas.

In a statement to the Joint Advisory Committee on Communications Capabilities of Emergency Medical and Public Health Care Facilities, the AHA said, “It is crucial that the JAC recommend policies that will produce a roadmap for the creation of a single standard for the capture and exchange of health care information and completion of the deployment of broadband and wireless networks nationwide. It is also vital that federal policies ensure the interoperability of emergency and medical communications systems and provide for the ongoing maintenance and upgrading of mandated new technology.”

Survey Compares Rural and Urban/Suburban Physicians

The nation's current doctor shortage is most acute in rural America, and an aging U.S. population combined with an increased interest in "quality of life" issues will likely make the situation worse before it gets better, according to representatives from www.LocumTenens.com. The physician recruitment firm recently surveyed doctors to better understand their perceptions of practicing medicine in rural America versus practicing in areas with populations of 50,000 or more.

The survey found that there may be fewer differences, at least clinically, between practicing in rural areas and urban ones than one might think.

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AHA urges CMS to include CAHs in outpatient quality reporting

The American Hospital Association on Jan. 11 urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to allow critical access hospitals to submit and publicly report outpatient quality data along with other hospitals in fiscal year 2008. Hospitals participating in Medicare’s outpatient prospective payment system are required to submit data on seven outpatient quality measures to receive a full payment update in FY 2008. CAHs qualify for cost-based reimbursement from Medicare and thus do not participate in the program’s prospective payment system.

“While there is no link between payment and the submission of quality data for critical access hospitals, they also would like the opportunity to submit data because of their commitment to public transparency and quality improvement,” the AHA said in a letter to CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. The Florida quality improvement organization chosen by CMS to assist hospitals with outpatient quality reporting recently announced CAHs would not be allowed to submit the outpatient measures.

[ via AHA News Now ]