To achieve our goal of improved communication across our members, the WCAHN will serve as a centralized repository of key documents and forms, issue briefings, and academic or journal articles related to critical access hospitals and key issues facing rural hospitals.
Use the Contact form on this web site to let us know about documents or articles you think would benefit WCAHN members, and we'll post them here.
How to Approach Meeting Meaningful Use
In July 2010, the Department of Healthcare Human Services (DHHS) released the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Health Information Technology (HIT) final rule regarding meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR) that will provide for subsequent Medicare and Medicaid incentives.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 specify three main components of Meaningful Use (MU):
1. The use of a certified EHR in a meaningful manner
2. The use of certified EHR technology for electronic exchange of health information to improve quality of health care
3. The use of certified EHR technology to submit clinical quality and other measures
When analyzing the various core, menu and quality measures of the MU final rule we understand that care management and quality are of paramount importance. The key objectives of MU include: preventative measures, appropriate care delivery, avoidance of adverse events, proper follow-up, care coordination, improved population health and information privacy and security. This article addresses how achieve these objectives.
Click
here to read the full article.
WCAHN, ORH, EMS Meet to Discuss Challenges, Opportunities
The WCAHN has established monthly meetings with the Office of Rural Health and the state EMS office to discuss challenges and opportunities among the three Flex partners. Click on the links below to read summaries of those meetings.
EMS Flex Update 041111.doc
New Paper from the RUPRI Health Panel
Securing High Quality Health Care in Rural America: The Impetus for Change in the Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 calls for the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan (National Quality Strategy) that, by definition, will affect health care that is delivered to millions of Americans who live in rural areas and thousands of health care providers who care for them. The goal of this paper is to answer the question, “What rural considerations should be addressed in a National Quality Strategy?
Please click
here to download this paper.
2010 WCAHN Work Plan
WCAHN workplan 2010.doc
New publications from the North Carolina Rural Health Research & Policy Analysis Center
These studies use Medicare Hospital Cost Reports to identify rural hospitals, with and without EMS units, to answer the following questions: what proportion of rural hospitals support or operate EMS units; has this changed in last five years; what are the characteristics of rural hospitals that support or operate EMS; what are the financial investments made by these hospitals in EMS; and what describes the communities in which these hospitals are located?
Findings Brief #99 "Rural Hospital Support for Emergency Medical Services" can be downloaded
here.
Final Report 100 "Rural Hospital Support for Emergency Medical Services" can be downloaded
here.