Rural Project Examples Addressing Outpatient care

Updated/reviewed April 2020

Need: Allow rural cancer patients in a region inclusive of 26 counties in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota to have access to tertiary-level chemotherapy regimens in rural infusion centers.
Intervention: With telehealth-based oversight from a tertiary care oncology team, 3 rural infusion teams were trained to coordinate cancer treatment plans and administer complex chemotherapy regimens.
Results: Almost 130 patients were transitioned to receive chemotherapy in a rural infusion center, translating to over 1,000 infusion visits and saving patients/families nearly 65,000 trip miles, 1,800 travel hours and $71,000.

Added November 2023

Need: To help people who use drugs and their families access treatment and counseling in rural Missouri.
Intervention: The CMH Addiction Recovery Program provides medication-assisted treatment, counseling, peer and family support, and other related services through a Rural Health Clinic.
Results: The program operates 5 days a week and sees 400 patients each month.

Added April 2021

Need: Population health approach to decreasing area deaths from cardiovascular disease.
Intervention: A health system-level investment in level II cardiac catheterization services and the required specialized cardiology workforce.
Results: Since August 2018, the Avita Health System in north central Ohio has provided local cardiovascular services that have decreased hospital transfers, increased care coordination, and provided education and prevention activities that, with time, will impact population health cardiovascular outcomes.

Updated/reviewed March 2021

Need: Impact patient care and safety issues related to antibiotic use in southwest Colorado.
Intervention: Pharmacy-led antibiotic stewardship program for inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care settings.
Results: With antibiotic use guidelines, refined infection diagnostics, and first-choice antibiotic selections, all care settings now see decreased days of treatment and decreased resistance patterns.

Updated/reviewed May 2020

Need: Improve healthcare access for school-aged children in a rural and underserved Indiana county.
Intervention: Working with several rural school districts and the state's rural health association, an Indiana county healthcare system used school-based telehealth to expand access for acute illness.
Results: As of May 2019, Greene County General Hospital in rural Linton, Indiana, has expanded primary care access by offering school-based telehealth in 2 elementary and 1 middle school in 3 of the county's 5 school districts.

Updated/reviewed March 2020

Need: Comprehensive cancer services for residents of an 8-county, 3-state area in Appalachia.
Intervention: Using a Cancer Patient Navigation Tool Kit, a Maryland acute care facility led a multidisciplinary collaboration that provided the area's patients with expanded cancer treatment services.
Results: In addition to several new cancer-related programs, expanded services are now available for cancer patients, families, and cancer survivors.

Added March 2019

Need: Pediatric behavioral health services in Delta County, Colorado.
Intervention: Multi-organizational and community-wide effort to increase healthcare access for underserved children and to integrate behavioral health care into the area's primary care clinics.
Results: Sustainable increases in access to pediatric behavioral health services.

Rural Project Examples: Outpatient care