Demographics, Regulatory Loophole May Be Contributing to Increased Mortality at Rural Hospitals

Study:  An Increasing Number Of Patients At Isolated Rural Hospitals Are Dying by Sy Mukherjee.  Think Progress.  April 3, 2013.

Mortality Rates For Medicare Beneficiaries Admitted To Critical Access And Non-Critical Access Hospitals, 2002-2010.  by Karen E. Joynt, M.D., et al.  Journal Of the American Medical Association.  April 3, 2013.

Death rates for Critical access hospitals (CAHS) are higher than the national average and are rising.  The Think Progress quotes the report citing demography, technology lag, and lack of specialists as possible contributors to the problem facing these remote, rural facilities.  Also perhaps important are different performance reporting requirements for CAHs under Medicare.  Patient satisfaction and readmission rates similar to urban hospitals are strengths of these rural hospitals.  Rural health is under stress.  These articles provide context.