Conditions Affecting Rural Hospital Specialization, Conversion, and Closure: A Case-based Analysis of Threat and Change

The purpose of this analysis is to increase understanding of how and why rural hospitals change, with an eye toward the relevance of these questions to overall access and quality in the rural community. This study reports the threats that precipitated three major classes of organizational change (specialization, conversion, and closure) in 16 rural hospital cases. The authors identify the types and levels of threat faced by the case hospitals and examine how different threat situations may lead toward different classes of change. Conversions and closures typically seem to result from moderate- or high-threat situations. Specializations seem to result from low- or moderate-threat situations.     

Rural Focus and Representation in State Maternal Mortality Review Committees: Review of Policy and Legislation

ObjectivesBetween 1990 and 2013, maternal mortality nearly doubled in the United States and rural residents experienced decreasing access to obstetric care. To improve maternal health, many states have established maternal mortality and morbidity review committees (MMRCs). We assessed the extent of rural representation in state policy efforts related to MMRCs.MethodsWe reviewed publicly available information on MMRCs (websites, statutes, bills, media) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, separately identifying highly rural states (with >30% of the population being rural residents). We assessed whether each state 1) had established an MMRC, 2) had passed legislation requiring an MMRC, 3) had considered, but not passed, legislation requiring an MMRC, 4) mentioned rural populations in MMRC legislation, 5) required representation on the MMRC from any particular groups, and 6) required rural representation on the MMRC.ResultsAs of December 2018, MMRCs were established in 45 states and the District of Columbia, an increase from 23 in 2010. Legislation was in place in 27 states, up from 6 in 2010. Only three states specifically mentioned rurality in legislation (including one highly rural state), and only two states required rural representation among their MMRC members (neither of which were highly rural states).ConclusionsRecent growth in MMRCs has had a limited focus on rural residents, despite their worse health outcomes and more limited access to health care, including obstetric services. Lack of rural representation may hamper geographically tailored efforts to reverse rising rates of maternal morbidity and mortality nationally.     

State Health Policy and Rural Hospitals

Many rural hospitals are experiencing difficulties. This article explores the views of various government and hospital officials on state health policy for rural hospitals. The authors discuss how these officials define the rural hospital issues and suggest appropriate state interventions to assure hospital viability and local access to care. The authors recommend that states, hospitals, and communities decide through a formal process what level of health and medical care should be available in rural areas, and states assist in low-cost ways those rural hospitals that are ready to change or that, with help, will be ready to make such operational changes as service reconfiguration, affiliations, and working agreements with other health care organizations to continue and improve local access to health care.     

Rural Health Research Community Perceptions of the Effects of Rural Hospital Closure on Access to Care

The purpose of this case study was to ascertain the perceptions of health professionals who were located in six rural communities where hospital closure occurred, regarding the impact of closure on community residents. These health professionals were asked to respond to questions about effects of hospital closures on the availability of medical services such as emergency care, physician services, hospital services and nursing home care. To control for trends in medical services utilization that were unrelated to hospital closure, the study design included comparison areas where similar hospitals remained open. A standardized questionnaire was administered to three health professionals in each of the areas that experienced a hospital closure and also in the matched comparison areas. Interviews of the health professionals in closure areas provide evidence suggestive of some perceived negative effects of hospital closure on these communities. These negative effects include difficulty recruiting and retaining physicians, concern of residents about the loss of their local emergency room, and increased travel times to receive hospital services. The perceived effects of closure appeared to be mediated by the distance required for travel to the nearest hospital. Respondents perceived increased travel times to most significantly affect vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, the disabled and the economically disadvantaged. Respondents in the majority of comparison areas also reported access barriers for vulnerable populations. These barriers primarily center on problems of obtaining transportation and enduring the rigors of travel. Improvements in the availability of transportation to medical care may offer some stabilization to communities where hospitals closed; however, it also is the case that transportation improvements are needed to increase access to care in rural communities where hospitals remained open.     

Impact of Conversion to Critical Access Hospital Status for Oklahoma''s Rural Hospitals

CONTEXT: The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Grant Program established a new hospital category, the Critical Access Hospital, designed to provide financial stability to small rural hospitals that were losing money after changes in the Prospective Payment System implemented by Medicare. PURPOSE: This article describes the impact of conversion to Critical Access Hospital (CAH) status for 15 small rural hospitals in Oklahoma. Objectives of the study were to identify how conversion to CAH affected hospital utilization and finances for the first year after conversion. METHODS: A telephone survey was used to collect information from hospital administrators. Fifteen of 16 eligible hospitals participated in the study. FINDINGS: In general, services and patient census declined slightly with conversion to CAH. All 15 hospitals had reported losses prior to conversion, totaling $6,985,033. Ten hospitals reported losses after conversion. After converting to CAH status, the hospitals reported total losses of $3,094,547. The hospitals had a net change of $4,293,040. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the 15 study hospitals greatly improved their financial situation in the first year after conversion to CAH status, but in aggregate still operated at a loss.     

Rural Health Policy: A Limited-service Rural Hospital Model: The Freestanding Emergency Department

A rural hospital that has been downsized to a freestanding emergency department is an important model in that it offers a possible solution to a community's need to have emergency-care services locally available. This model could include other important local services, such as skilled-nursing and outpatient services. This study looks at the financial feasibility of a rural hospital shutting down acute-care services and maintaining emergency services. Expenses were determined, and changes to revenue and expenses were estimated. Reimbursement was assumed static. Medicare cost reports and hospital financial disclosure reports were used in investigating three model categories: an urgent-care clinic with emergency services; a hospital-based emergency department with an outpatient clinic; a hospital-based emergency department with an outpatient clinic and a hospital-based skilled-nursing facility. Even with best-case assumptions regarding continued reimbursement, results show only a small increase in net income and, in two cases, large losses compared with the size of the hospital operations. A subsidy would be required from the community or an affiliated hospital or network for the model to remain financially stable. The regulatory barriers to implementation are noted, as well as the potential problems with the human aspects of implementation--staffing, recruitment and retention, professional education and quality. If the model rural hospital is an affiliate or partner with one or more health care facility, which could assist with financial and staffing needs, it may be feasible.     

Recommendations for Managing Hospital Closure

An acute care hospital was closed by the British Columbia Ministry of Health in 1993. A research study was conducted to investigate the ways closure of the hospital affected hospital employees and to identify ways to facilitate the closure/reorganization process. Unstructured interviews were conducted with 25 employees around the time of closure and six months after the closure. In the category Living with Closure, six themes arose from the qualitative analysis. They related to (1) provision of information; (2) effect of closure on the working environment and colleagues; (3) perceived stress; (4) recognition of one's worth; (5) provision of support services; and (6) the process of having a new job. The authors offer recommendations stemming from the analysis, which are intended to assist others planning for future hospital reorganizations or closures.     

医院自配药剂管理混乱药监部门立法严管

“相比药品来说,医院的制剂更为混乱。许多医院都有自配药剂,这些药剂一般都无须严格审批,容易给患者带来安全隐患。”这是北京某三甲医院药剂科一位主任透露的真实情况。但是,随着《医疗机构制剂注册管理办法》(以下简称《办法》)的实施,对医疗机构制剂的管理将加强,不符合要求的医院制剂将得不到审批。     

我国公立医疗机构民营化的政策选择分析

文章以民营化作为我国公立医疗机构改革的政策选择，在给予其合法性分析的基础上．进而指出可以以，公立医疗机构的产权革新和公共民营合作制的非产权变动作为进入路径，来突破政府对医疗保健服务的行业垄断和医疗服务供给体系的歧视性安排．重构医疗保健服务制度体系。