National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Access to Care (1)
- Cancer: Breast Cancer (1)
- Children/Adolescents (2)
- Disabilities (1)
- Elderly (1)
- Emergency Department (1)
- (-) Healthcare Costs (10)
- Healthcare Utilization (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (2)
- Hospital Discharge (1)
- Hospitals (2)
- Maternal Care (1)
- Medicaid (1)
- Medicare (2)
- Nursing (1)
- Policy (1)
- Rural/Inner-City Residents (2)
- (-) Rural Health (10)
- Sepsis (1)
- Telehealth (3)
- Transitions of Care (1)
- Urban Health (2)
- Vulnerable Populations (1)
- Women (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 10 of 10 Research Studies DisplayedMacDougall H, Hanson S, Interrante JD
Rural-urban differences in health care unaffordability during the postpartum period.
The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore health care unaffordability for rural and urban residents and by postpartum status. The study found that postpartum people reported statistically significantly higher rates of inability to pay medical bills when compared with non-postpartum people. Rural residents also reported higher rates of inability to pay their medical bills and having problems paying medical bills as compared with urban residents. In adjusted models, the predicted probability of being unable to pay medical bills among postpartum respondents was 12.8%, which was higher than among non-postpartum respondents. Similarly, postpartum respondents had higher predicted probabilities of reporting problems paying medical bills (18.4%) than compared with non-postpartum respondents. IN adjusted models, residency in a rural area was not significantly related with the health care unaffordability outcome measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS000011.
Citation: MacDougall H, Hanson S, Interrante JD .
Rural-urban differences in health care unaffordability during the postpartum period.
Med Care 2023 Sep; 61(9):595-600. doi: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001888..
Keywords: Rural Health, Urban Health, Rural/Inner-City Residents, Maternal Care, Healthcare Costs, Women, Access to Care
Williams PH, Gilmartin HM, Leonard C
The influence of the Rural Transitions Nurse Program for veterans on healthcare utilization costs.
This study’s objective was to examine changes from pre- to post-hospitalization in total, inpatient, and outpatient 30-day healthcare utilization costs for Veterans Affairs Healthcare System Rural Transitions Nurse Program (TNP) enrollees compared to controls. Although findings showed no difference in change in total costs between veterans enrolled in TNP and controls, TNP was associated with a smaller increase in direct inpatient medical costs and a larger increase in direct outpatient medical costs, suggesting a shifting of costs from the inpatient to outpatient setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS024569.
Citation: Williams PH, Gilmartin HM, Leonard C .
The influence of the Rural Transitions Nurse Program for veterans on healthcare utilization costs.
J Gen Intern Med 2022 Nov;37(14):3529-34. doi: 10.1007/s11606-022-07401-y..
Keywords: Rural Health, Nursing, Transitions of Care, Healthcare Utilization, Healthcare Costs
Mohr NM, Schuette AR, Ullrich F
An economic and health outcome evaluation of telehealth in rural sepsis care: a comparative effectiveness study.
The purpose of this study will be to assess the impact of provider-focused video telehealth in rural hospital emergency departments (ED) on costs and long-term outcomes for patients with sepsis. Using Medicare administrative claims, the researchers will compare telehealth-subscribing hospitals and control hospitals to assess the differences in total health care expenditures, category-specific costs, length of stay, readmissions, and mortality. The researchers intend for the study results to demonstrate the association between telehealth utilization and sepsis care total expenditures.
AHRQ-funded; HS025753.
Citation: Mohr NM, Schuette AR, Ullrich F .
An economic and health outcome evaluation of telehealth in rural sepsis care: a comparative effectiveness study.
J Comp Eff Res 2022 Jul;11(10):703-16. doi: 10.2217/cer-2022-0019..
Keywords: Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Sepsis, Rural Health, Healthcare Costs
Davidson L, Haynes SC, Favila-Meza A
Parent experience and cost savings associated with a novel tele-physiatry program for children living in rural and underserved communities.
This study investigated patient and therapist experience and cost savings from the payer perspective associated with a novel tele-physiatry program for children living in rural and underserved communities. Study setting was four school-based clinics in Northern California with a total of 268 encounters (124 telemedicine and 144 in-person). Parent and therapists reported no difference in experience and perceived quality of care between telemedicine and in-person encounters. For parents whose children received a telemedicine encounter, 54.8% reported no preference for their child’s subsequent encounter, 28.8% preferred a physiatrist telemedicine visit, and 12 preferred a physiatrist in-person visit. There was also an average cost savings of $100 per clinic owing to physician milage for in-person visits.
AHRQ-funded; HS025714.
Citation: Davidson L, Haynes SC, Favila-Meza A .
Parent experience and cost savings associated with a novel tele-physiatry program for children living in rural and underserved communities.
Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2022 Jan;103(1):8-13. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2021.07.807..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Healthcare Costs, Rural Health, Vulnerable Populations, Disabilities, Rural/Inner-City Residents
Williams D, Holmes GM, Song PH
For rural hospitals that merged, inpatient charges decreased and outpatient charges increased: a pre-/post-comparison of rural hospitals that merged and rural hospitals that did not merge between 2005 and 2015.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether inpatient and outpatient charges changed at rural hospitals after a merger. The investigators found that merging was strongly associated with a decrease in inpatient charges and somewhat associated with an increase in outpatient charges for rural hospitals. They indicated that future work could build upon their results to determine whether acquirers reduce or eliminate certain services at rural hospitals after a merger, and ultimately how changes in service delivery could impact patients in those rural communities.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Williams D, Holmes GM, Song PH .
For rural hospitals that merged, inpatient charges decreased and outpatient charges increased: a pre-/post-comparison of rural hospitals that merged and rural hospitals that did not merge between 2005 and 2015.
J Rural Health 2021 Mar;37(2):308-17. doi: 10.1111/jrh.12461..
Keywords: Rural Health, Hospitals, Healthcare Costs
Toth M, Holmes M, Toles M
Impact of postdischarge follow-up care on Medicare expenditures: does rural make a difference?
Reducing postdischarge Medicare expenditures is a key focus for hospitals. Early follow-up care is an important piece of this focus, but it is unclear whether there are rural-urban differences in the impact of follow-up care on Medicare expenditures. To assess this difference, the study authors used Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Cost and Use Files, 2000-2010 to conduct a retrospective analysis of 30-day postdischarge Medicare expenditures using two-stage residual inclusion with a quantile regression, where the receipt of 7-day follow-up care was the main independent variable.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Toth M, Holmes M, Toles M .
Impact of postdischarge follow-up care on Medicare expenditures: does rural make a difference?
Med Care Res Rev 2018 Jun;75(3):327-53. doi: 10.1177/1077558716687499.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Hospital Discharge, Medicare, Rural Health
Williams D, Jr., Holmes M
Rural health care costs: are they higher and why might they differ from urban health care costs?
Do health care costs differ between rural and urban populations, and if so, why might that be? Rural Americans are more vulnerable than their urban counterparts, which could lead one to suspect rural health care costs are higher. However, the answer may differ depending on how costs are measured and who is paying.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Williams D, Jr., Holmes M .
Rural health care costs: are they higher and why might they differ from urban health care costs?
N C Med J 2018 Jan-Feb;79(1):51-55. doi: 10.18043/ncm.79.1.51.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Rural Health, Urban Health
Lindrooth RC, Perraillon MC, Hardy RY
Understanding the relationship between Medicaid expansions and hospital closures.
The investigators hypothesized that Medicaid expansion of eligibility for childless adults prevents hospital closures because increased Medicaid coverage for previously uninsured people reduces uncompensated care expenditures and strengthens hospitals' financial position. They tested this hypothesis using data for the period 2008-16 on hospital closures and financial performance and discuss their findings in this paper.
AHRQ-funded; HS024959; HS025208.
Citation: Lindrooth RC, Perraillon MC, Hardy RY .
Understanding the relationship between Medicaid expansions and hospital closures.
Health Aff 2018 Jan;37(1):111-20. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0976..
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Policy, Hospitals, Medicaid, Rural Health
Vyas A, Madhavan SS, Sambamoorthi U
Differences in Medicare expenditures between Appalachian and nationally representative cohorts of elderly women with breast cancer: an application of decomposition technique.
The objective of this study was to determine Medicare expenditures during the initial phase of care among women in West Virginia (WV) who were Medicare beneficiaries with BC and compare them with national estimates. It found that the difference in average Medicare expenditures between the elderly beneficiaries with BC from a rural state (WV) and their national counterparts narrowed but remained significantly lower after multivariate adjustment.
AHRQ-funded; HS018622.
Citation: Vyas A, Madhavan SS, Sambamoorthi U .
Differences in Medicare expenditures between Appalachian and nationally representative cohorts of elderly women with breast cancer: an application of decomposition technique.
J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2017 May;15(5):578-87.
.
.
Keywords: Cancer: Breast Cancer, Elderly, Healthcare Costs, Medicare, Rural Health
Yang NH, Dharmar M, Yoo BK
Economic evaluation of pediatric telemedicine consultations to rural emergency departments.
The researchers conducted an economic evaluation to estimate the cost, effectiveness, and return on investment (ROI) of telemedicine consultations provided to health care providers of acutely ill and injured children in rural EDs compared with telephone consultations from a health care payer prospective. They found that treating 10 acutely ill and injured children at each rural ED with telemedicine resulted in an annual cost-savings of $46,620 per ED. They concluded that telemedicine consultations to health care providers of acutely ill and injured children presenting to rural EDs are cost-saving or cost-effective compared with telephone consultations.
AHRQ-funded; HS013179.
Citation: Yang NH, Dharmar M, Yoo BK .
Economic evaluation of pediatric telemedicine consultations to rural emergency departments.
Med Decis Making 2015 Aug;35(6):773-83. doi: 10.1177/0272989x15584916.
.
.
Keywords: Healthcare Costs, Emergency Department, Children/Adolescents, Rural Health, Telehealth