Rural and Urban Utilization of the Emergency Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Utilizes data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project's State Emergency Department Databases for seven states. Researchers explore, and describe in this brief, the use of the Emergency Department for mental health and substance abuse among Urban, Large Rural, Small Rural, and Isolated Small Rural residents.

Oral Healthcare Service in North Dakota Community Healthcare Centers
Examines dental health professional shortage areas in North Dakota, and provides recommendations for increasing access to care through community health centers.

Policy Brief: Use and Performance Variations in U.S. Rural Emergency Departments: Implications for Improving Care Quality and Reducing Costs
Rural areas have a higher prevalence of subpopulations (younger, low income, and uninsured) that use the Emergency Department (ED) for non-emergent purposes than urban areas. ZIP Code areas with fewer than five primary care physicians per 10,000 had populations that were more likely to use those EDs for non-emergent conditions.

Policy Brief: Rural-Urban Disparities in Heart Disease
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming about 600,000 lives annually. This policy brief highlights rural-urban disparities in heart disease and focuses on three measures: 1) death rates for ischemic heart disease (IHD) among persons 20 years of age and older, 2) obesity among persons 18 years of age and older, and 3) physical inactivity during leisure time among persons 18 years of age and older.

Effect of Outpatient Visits and Discharge Destination on Potentially Preventable Readmissions for Congestive Heart Failure and Bacterial Pneumonia
Emphasizes the importance of receiving timely post-discharge outpatient care and appropriate discharge destination for reducing preventable hospital readmissions, especially but not exclusively among rural-based patients. Full report.

Dementia Care Services Project: Continued Progress in Providing Assistance to Caregivers
Provides information regarding the continued progress in providing assistance to caregivers of participates in the dementia care services project.

Geographic Differences in Potentially Preventable Readmission Rates in Rural and Urban Hospitals
Presents a study that estimated Potentially Preventable Hospital Readmissions (PPRs) in three types of acute care hospitals: urban prospective payment system (PPS) hospitals, rural PPS hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).