Resources & Information You Need to Know

  • Getting the Word Out About the Affordable Care Act -
  • Colorado Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Spring Cycle is Closing in 2 Weeks -
  • Federal Register Notice Has Rural Implications -
  • Study: Computerized Provider Order Entry Reduces Medication Errors in Hospitals -
  • New Resources: New AHRQ Database Offers Patient Safety Education and Training Resources -
  • Rural Health Care Program Resources -
Getting the Word Out About the Affordable Care Act: Arizona SORH Delivers Quick and Easy Info in ACA Brochure
As the Affordable Care Act (ACA) moves from law to reality, State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs) are finding ways to make sure that their residents are informed about all the changes and opportunities that the ACA provides.

The Arizona SORH is working to distribute an easy-to-understand brochure that discusses 12 key measures of the ACA, intended for a rural audience. The brochure is available in both in online and paper formats.

“All the other stuff we were seeing on the ACA is so complicated,” said Joyce Hospodar, Health Systems Development Manager at the AZ SORH. “We’re trying to get it down to the local level. As people become more aware of the ACA, we’ll be able to increase their participation in what they’re eligible for, so more people will be getting insurance and be involved with the benefits of the ACA.”

The brochure was a response to a Kellogg Foundation initiative called Rural People, Rural Policy and was developed by the Southwest Rural Policy Network (SWRPN)’s Health Action Team, according to Hospodar. Using money from that initiative, the AZ SORH was able to make printed copies of the brochure to distribute in the state; so far it has been distributed to 26 organizations there, including all the AHECs.

By popular demand the brochure is being translated into Spanish, and public service announcements are being written from it in both English and Spanish, which will be targeted for national distribution.

Funding for development of the brochure came from the Kellogg Initiative. Despite the up-front costs of web development and printing, Hospodar said, she thinks it will be a good investment. “So many organizations are working to get the word out about the ACA that there’s lots of duplication. We’re trying to streamline it. The brochure can be used to answer questions that patients—and citizens—have about the ACA quickly and easily.”

Hospodar said that both the online and print brochure versions can be modified and used by other State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs), but it will require some funding for the modifications. New Mexico is also offering a version of the brochure, tailored for their use, with their particular contact info. To access the Arizona and New Mexico ACA brochures, visit the SWRPN Affordable Care Act page. SORHs that are interested in adapting the brochure for their use can contact Hospodar for more information, at hospodar@email.arizona.edu or 520-626-2432.


Colorado Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Spring Cycle is Closing in 2 Weeks!
Do you have a healthcare provider at your facility who is interested in loan repayment? Let them know that the Colorado Health Service Corps (CHSC) Loan Repayment Program Spring 2013 application cycle is now open. The application cycle is open for one month, closing on March 31st, 2013. CHSC provides loan repayment to fully trained primary care providers in exchange for a three-year full-time service obligation in an underserved community. After completing their initial years of service, loan repayors may apply for additional years of support! Eligible providers include primary care Family Physicians, Internists, OB/GYNs, Pediatricians, Dentists, Psychiatrists, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, Certified Nurse Midwives, Dental Hygienists and licensed mental health professionals.
To find out more about the CHSC Loan Repayment Program, please visit http://www.cdphe.state.co.us/pp/primarycare/chsc/.

Would you like to speak with someone to find out if your facility is eligible for loan repayment? Contact Colorado Provider Recruitment (CPR) at cpr@coruralhealth.org or (303) 832-7493.


Federal Register Notice Has Rural Implications
A February 7, 2013, Federal Register Notice has rural health implications. The FR Notice, Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Part II—Regulatory Provisions To Promote Program Efficiency, Transparency, and Burden Reduction, includes two major provisions on Critical Access Hospitals. One proposal is to change the requirement that a physician be on-site for RHCs, CAHs and FQHCs (availability could be by radio or telephone). Another is to drop the requirement that CAHs develop patient care policies with the advice of at least one non-staff member. This is a rare opportunity to comment on a CMS proposal. Comments on this Notice are due by due April 8th at 5pm EST.


Study: Computerized Provider Order Entry Reduces Medication Errors in Hospitals
Processing a prescription through an electronic ordering system can reduce the likelihood of a drug error by half and potentially avoid more than 17 million such incidents in U.S. hospitals in one year alone, according to a new study supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The authors evaluated published evidence on the impact of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) on hospital drug errors and combined this information with data on the adoption of CPOE and the volume of medication orders processed annually. The results estimated the reduction in drug errors for one year, finding that widespread adoption of CPOE could substantially reduce drug errors.

“Reduction in medication errors in hospitals due to adoption of computerized provider order entry systems” appears online in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. To access the abstract, select: http://jamia.bmj.com/content/early/2013/01/27/amiajnl-2012-001241.full.


New Resources: New AHRQ Database Offers Patient Safety Education and Training Resources
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a new Patient Safety Education and Training Catalog consisting of 333 patient safety programs currently available in the United States (as of Nov. 2011). The catalog offers an easily navigable database of patient safety education and training programs consisting of a robust collection of information each tagged for easy searching and browsing. The new database identifies a number of characteristics of the programs, including clinical area, program and learning objectives, evaluation measures, and cost. The clinical areas in the database align with the PSNet Collections. Developed by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) from Internet searches in 2010 and 2011, the catalog captures a snapshot of available programs at the time.


Rural Health Care Program Funding Year 2013 Window Opens 9:00 AM EDT April 8, 2013
Eligible health care providers (HCPs) may begin the Rural Health Care (RHC) Program application process for Funding Year (FY) 2013 by filing FCC Form 465, Description of Services Requested and Certification Form, beginning on Monday, April 8, 2013, at 9:00 AM EDT. FY2013 is from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014.
New in 2014: The Healthcare Connect Fund
HCPs will be able to choose between two programs based on which best suits their needs: The Telecommunications Program (formerly known as the RHC Primary Program) and the Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF). To learn more about the HCF, subscribe to the HCF Bulletin – a new, bi-weekly email publication that will provide everything you need to know about the HCF. To sign up, visit the Subscription Center and select "RHC Healthcare Connect Fund (HCF) Bulletin."
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