NCHN: You have spent much of your career working with health networks. In your career with health networks, what lessons stand out for you the most and what have you learned about health networks that you would like to share?
KT: For the past 30 years, I have worked with organizations dedicated to improving access to health care in rural areas, first in Southern West Virginia and more recently in Northern New Hampshire. I have learned that in rural areas, which in most cases are synonymous with under-served areas, the most cost effective and cost efficient way to provide health care is for health care providers, including rural health clinics, community health centers, critical access hospitals, home health agencies and other providers of care to work in a collaborative fashion to serve their patients. Only when providers share resources within a network, can access be improved and health status indicators improve.
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» Find out more about Katharine at NCHN.org
Healthcare providers along East Coast prepare for Hurricane Sandy
Read more: East Coast providers prepare for Sandy (Oct. 28, 2012, ModernHealthcare.com)
Healthcare providers on the East Coast spent the weekend preparing for Hurricane Sandy, with hospitals canceling elective surgeries and discharging patients to free up beds.
Rural Areas Still Waiting for Digital Health Care (Oct. 26, 2012, ThirdAge.com)
Two years ago, it took about two-and-a-half hours to send an X- ray Image over the Internet from Lake District Hospital in south central Oregon to the nearest big hospital in Bend. Now, it takes four seconds.
The Campaign, Black Lung and Sen. Byrd (Oct. 25, 2012, The Daily Yonder)
The best thing that's happened for underground coal miners in the past several years can be found in a small provision of the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as 'Obamacare.' It is never mentioned by the President or his campaign.
EHR Vendors Targeting Small, Rural Hospitals Gaining in Popularity
(Oct. 24, 2012, iHealthBeat)
Electronic health record vendors that target small, rural and critical-access hospitals are some of the most popular suppliers of complete EHR systems for hospitals participating in the Medicare meaningful use program...
Uninsured in Rural America (Oct. 24, 2012, The Daily Yonder)
The percentage of rural Americans without health insurance has been rising since 2005. But the differences from one rural county to another in the rate of uninsured can be enormous.
12 Key Issues Hospitals Will Face in 2013 (Oct. 22, 2012, Becker's Hospital Review)
In an Oct. 17 webinar presented by Becker's Hospital Review, Scott Becker, JD, CPA, a partner at McGuireWoods in Chicago and publisher of Becker's Hospital Review, commented on a dozen of the most pressing issues facing hospitals and health systems today.
Safety Net Hospitals Face $53.3B in Uncompensated Care Costs by 2019 (Oct. 26, 2012, HealthLeaders Media)
he U.S. Supreme Court ruling last summer that lets states opt out of Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act could saddle the nation's safety net hospitals with $53.3 billion in uncompensated care costs by 2019, according to the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.
HIT Policy Committee Advisory Meeting (Nov. 7, 2012 | Washington, DC, HHS)
The Road to Population Health: Key Considerations in Making the Transition (Nov. 14, 2012 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM CST, Becker's Hospital Review)
Telehealth Marketing - the Path to Patients, Profits, and PR (Nov. 15, 2012 | 2:00 PM ET, Telehealth Resource Center)
National Rural Health Day (Nov. 15, 2012)