The RUPRI Health Panel describes opportunities for rural communities to develop a high-performance rural health system after hospital closure, including three case studies that describe real-world transitions from a hospital-based locus of care to new models of care delivery in rural places.
After Hospital Closure: Pursuing High Performance Rural Health System without Inpatient Care
This paper describes opportunities for rural communities to develop a high performance rural health system after hospital closure, including three case studies that describe real-world transitions from centering on inpatient hospital-based care to new models of care delivery in rural places. Communities with hospitals that are vulnerable to closure may also find the approaches outlined here constructive when considering options for optimal care delivery. The health services delivery options are synthesized into two categories: currently available options under existing Federal and State laws governing health care structures and payments, and new ideas that are policy options under consideration introduced by various policy stakeholders in response to the crisis that closures have created for many rural communities. The policy options under consideration would promote delivery arrangements that require new laws and/or Federal and State regulations and payment arrangements.
