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Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Rural home-health agencies get care started sooner but urban agencies better at keeping patients out of the hospital

A newly published study in the Journal of Rural Health examines rural-urban differences in home-health care using national home health data from 2014 to 2018 from 7,908 home-health agencies, 1,537 of which were rural. Here are some of the study's findings:

  • Rural agencies were less likely to be for-profit and accredited.
  • Rural agencies were more likely to be hospital-based.
  • Rural agencies were more likely to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
  • Rural agencies were more likely to have hospice programs.
  • Rural agencies were consistently better at establishing timely care.
  • Urban agencies were better at keeping patients out of the emergency room or hospital.
  • Providers from rural home-health agencies often spend significant time traveling to and from patients' homes, which could result in less-efficient care.
  • Rural agencies also face persistent staffing and resource issues.
  • Rural home-health patients are also more likely to be in poorer health than urban patients.

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