Rural Health Path to Value Rural Health Innovations offers services to help you climb toward population health and improve the health status of your community.
Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) Work with us to set a course toward value-based payment and population health. A thorough assessment of your community's needs is the crucial first step.
Additional Consulting Services
Network and Partnership Development More is possible when working together. Let us help you build bridges that lead to healthier communities.
Technical Assistance & Services Center (TASC) TASC provides performance improvement resources to CAHs and state Flex Programs on quality, finance, operations, systems of care and population health.
Small Rural Hospital Improvement Grant Program (SHIP) SHIP provides funding to approximately 1,600 participating hospitals in 46 participating SORHs to help small rural hospitals participate in value-based payment and care delivery models.
Network Technical Assistance (TA) RHI provides technical assistance (TA) to over 60 networks in the Development and Allied Health rural health network grant programs.
Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project The Small Rural Hospital Transition (SRHT) Project supports small rural hospitals nationally by providing on-site technical assistance to assist bridging the gaps between the current health care system and the newly emerging health care delivery and payment system.
Resource Library The Center's Resource Library features webinars, presentations, articles and toolkits developed by trusted industry leaders to guide and support rural health stakeholders.
This list includes upcoming and past Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) events. Generally, the intended audience for live TASC events is State Office of Rural Health Directors and Flex Program Coordinators. Recordings posted in the past events list are available for anyone's use.
Virtual Knowledge Group recordings are available in the Flex Program Forum instead of the past events list below.
Explain why health care is targeted by cyberattacks, who the attackers are, and the potential implications. Recognize the top cyber threats to health care organizations such as critical access hospitals (CAHs) and rural health clinics (RHCs). Discuss how health care organizations can practice preparedness and what to do in case of a cyberattack.
The goal of the FORHP Flex Program Virtual Workshop is to provide new or existing Flex Program staff an orientation to the Flex Program. Attendance at this event is open only to state Flex grantees.
Recognize the opportunities and challenges for rural health providers in implementing and sustaining tele-behavioral health. List examples of rural models across different aspects of tele-behavioral health. Describe how Flex Programs could support tele-behavioral health for CAHs and RHCs. Identify evaluation and metrics for tele-behavioral health programs.
Explore the new TASC-hosted SharePoint space and Quality Innovation Lab (QIL) email groups and understand expectations of use. Review examples of well written project plans and identify opportunities to enhance your state QI project plan. Receive instructions prior to the first round of QIL meetings. Hear general MBQIP updates.
Understand the importance of telehealth implementation for CAHs and discuss best practices and resources for implementation. Comprehend the scope of telehealth implementation with regards to purchasing, staffing, maintenance, reimbursement, and reporting for outpatient services for CAHs.
Review the results of the Flex Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 PIMS data collection. Understand the requirements for the Flex FY 2020 PIMS data collection, the Flex FY 2020 End of Year Report submission, and the Flex FY 2020 Annual Federal Financial Report.
Understand the importance of leadership provided by mid-level managers at small rural hospitals. Gain awareness of new leadership resources to support mid-level managers.
Understand the role mid-level managers play in value-based payment models. Learn how Flex Programs can help support the leadership of critical access hospitals.
Identify contract management best practices and tips they can use for their Flex Program subcontracts or managing the life cycle of their QI project. Recognize how other Flex Coordinators troubleshoot contract management issues to improve office efficiencies and project outcomes.
The purpose of this small group meeting was to highlight the latest information and issues in the Flex Program and to provide an opportunity for EMS supplement project grantees to share experiences, lessons learned, and successes from the second year of the multi-year supplement projects.
Define what tele-behavioral health consists of and how it is different from tele-mental health. State what a tele-behavioral health visit looks like for a patient. Recall data and evidence related to the effectiveness of tele-behavioral health. Identify the opportunities and challenges of implementing and sustaining tele-behavioral health for rural health providers.
The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's (FORHP) Flex Program Virtual Reverse Site Visit (RSV) is an opportunity for state Flex Programs to make connections, share best practices and gather lessons learned to better engage and empower CAHs in activities to support healthy rural communities.
As part of the 2021 RSV theme, the Technical Assistance and Services Center (TASC) will be hosting a pre-RSV workshop on resiliency for state Flex Program staff.
Explain the basic components of remote patient monitoring (RPM) services. Describe the value of RPM to rural patients. Recall data and evidence related to the effectiveness of RPM. Recognize the opportunities and challenges of RPM for rural health providers. Understand what RPM means for value-based models.
View the playback from the National Rural HIT Coalition meeting with state and federal updates. Discussions included the quality and effectiveness of telehealth.
Identify examples of non-traditional partnerships that can be beneficial in for state Flex programs. Discuss how to establish partnerships within state Flex program work. Recognize the value of seeking out other partnerships in your state and its positive impact on your state Flex program initiatives.
Participate in group sharing and discussion of plans and potential pain points regarding planning and implementation of the quality improvement (QI) project as outlined in your non-competing continuation (NCC). Hear general MBQIP updates.
Define what virtual primary care is and what a visit looks like for a patient. Recall data and evidence related to the effectiveness of virtual primary care. Identify the opportunities and challenges of virtual primary care for rural health providers. Describe how COVID is affecting and may affect virtual primary care as a service line.
Gain knowledge regarding new models of health care payment and delivery. Understand updates to these models and the changes that have occurred from the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how Flex Programs can help support new models of payment and delivery.
Understand changes and updates to CAHMPAS including the return of CAH Financial Indicator Reports (CAHFIR) Reports. Hear how other Flex Coordinators utilize CAHMPAS including methods for pulling data, generating reports, and determining what data to look at.
Recall the usual elements of telehealth reimbursement policy. Recognize pre-COVID telehealth policy. Explain how the public health emergency (PHE) has affected telehealth policy. Describe other federal developments around telehealth policy. Summarize effects of PHE-related telehealth changes on rural health care organizations.
Describe the financial and quality impacts of rural hospital and clinic telehealth use. Express market protection concerns for rural hospitals from non-traditional competitors with broad increased use and acceptance of telehealth. Recognize enhanced access to health care for rural patients. Recognize the benefits of telehealth use in value-based payment models.
Recall peer Flex Program experiences with telehealth initiatives
Participate in group sharing of ideas regarding the Quality Improvement project for this year’s Flex NCC. Hear updates regarding CMS Hospital Star Ratings and electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). Hear general MBQIP updates.
View a summary from the National Rural HIT Coalition meeting with state and federal updates. Discussion topics included HIT updates related to telehealth, COVID-19, infrastructure and broadband, and industry-based telehealth and the impact on rural health.
This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB1RH24206, Information Services to Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Grantees, $1,009,121 (0% financed with nongovernmental sources). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.
