The highly complex role of the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) requires the refinement of a multitude of competencies and leadership skills in this unprecedented time of healthcare reform. As the senior most patient advocate in our medical centers the CNO is responsible for translating research into practice, policy development and implementation creating value based patient-centric strategies to transform health care. The ability to sustain and thrive in this role is essential in repositioning nursing as a knowledgeable discipline actively contributing to the redesign of healthcare. This exploratory descriptive phenomenological study was designed to explore and describe the elements that contribute to the sustainment of CNOs in their practice of nurse executive leadership. Ray’s (1989) Theory of Bureaucratic Caring, Authentic Leadership Theory (Wong & Cummings, 2009), and Resiliency Theory (Earvolino- Ramirez (2007) provided the theoretical lens through which this study was grounded. Semi-structured telephonic interviews were conducted with twenty CNOs all with two consecutive years experience in their current role. Six themes emerged after thorough content analysis which describes the lived experience of sustainment. Each theme was supported by several subthemes. Themes emerged as: Loving the Profession, Having a Broader Impact Reflecting on One’s Own Work, Learning to Manage Conflict, Maintaining Work/Life Balance Working with Supportive Leaders. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Essa investigação tem por objeto de estudo o processo gerencial desenvolvido na atenção básica, em específico nas Unidades de Saúde da Família (USF), do município de Marília - SP, Brasil. A Saúde da Família tem se constituído em estratégia para a reorganização da atenção básica e da produção em saúde proposta a partir de 1994, pelo governo brasileiro e sustentada pelos princípios e diretrizes do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Um dos desafios nesse processo é o de buscar o comprometimento dos trabalhadores de saúde, assim como o de estabelecer instrumentos, como, por exemplo, a gerência de serviços de saúde, para a reorganização do processo de trabalho em saúde que possibilitem o atendimento das necessidades de saúde da população, e a ação de saúde voltada para a produção de cuidados. Assim o presente estudo tem por objetivos: apreender as características tecnológicas do processo de trabalho em saúde - o objeto, a finalidade, modo de agir e tecnologias utilizadas - na perspectiva do trabalho gerencial nas USFs; identificar e analisar a compreensão acerca do processo gerencial pelos trabalhadores de saúde; analisar a potência da gerência como ferramenta para a consolidação dos princípios e diretrizes do SUS na Saúde da Família. Para tanto aproximamo-nos do referencial da micropolítica do processo de trabalho em saúde. A captação do empírico consistiu em entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto aos trabalhadores de saúde de duas USFs. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à Análise de Conteúdo, modalidade temática. O processo de trabalho desenvolvido nas USFs investigadas foi apreendido a partir de quatro temas identificados no estudo: concepção do trabalho na Saúde da Família; organização do processo de trabalho; trabalho em equipe na produção do cuidado; relação equipe de saúde - usuário na produção do cuidado. A análise e apresentação dos temas pautaram-se pela articulação à configuração teóricometodológica que sustenta a presente investigação. Assim, os temas apresentam-se articulados ao objeto de trabalho na Saúde da Família e projetos que sustentam essa prática em saúde, aos instrumentos e ao modo de agir no cotidiano do serviço e a constituição do processo de gestão/gerência. A análise empreendida aponta que o processo de trabalho em saúde apresenta limites para tomar as necessidades de saúde dos usuários em sua complexidade, utilizando instrumentos estritos ao setor saúde e desarticulados do processo de produção e reprodução social, no entanto, os trabalhadores expressam relações de responsabilização e acolhimento junto aos usuários dos serviços de saúde. A condução da prática gerencial, também, apresenta limites, para ser tomada como um instrumento com potência para desencadear no conjunto dos trabalhadores um processo de reflexão e revisão sobre sua prática e os encaminhe à adesão e comprometimento a um processo de produção de cuidados à saúde na direção apontada pelo SUS, porém há um movimento de tentativa, de ensaio, de procura ... / This investigation has as it study object the managerial process developed in the basic attention, specifically in the USFs (Family Health Units) from the city of Marília - SP, Brazil. The Family Health has been constituted in strategy for the reorganization of the basic attention and the production in health care, proposed since 1994 by the Brazilian government and sustained by the principles and polices of the SUS (State Health System). One of the challenges in this process is seeking for commitment of the health workers, as well as establishing instruments, such as, for instance, the management of the health services for the reorganization of the work process in the health area which enables the fulfillment of the population\'s needs for health care and the health action focused on the production of care. Thus, the current study has as its objective: to learn the technological characteristics of the work process in health care - the object, the aim, the way of acting and the technologies used - in the perspective of the managerial work in the USFs; to identify and analyze the understanding about the managerial process by the health care workers; analyze the power of the management as a tool for the consolidation of the principles and policies of SUS in the Family Health. For such, we approached the referential of the micro politics in the process of the health care work. The gathering of the empiric constituted of semi-structured interviews with the health workers in two USFs. The collected data were subjected to Content Analysis, thematic modality. The work process developed in the investigated USFs was apprehended from four identified themes in the study: Conception of the Work in the Family Health; Organization of the Work Process; Team Work in the Production of Care; Relation Health Team - User in the Production of Care. The analysis and presentation of the themes were lined by their articulation with the theorical-methodological configuration which sustains the current investigation. Therefore, the themes are presented articulated to the work object in the Family Health and projects which sustain this practice in health, to the tools and the way of acting in the daily service and to the constitution of the process conduct/ management. The apprehended analysis points that the process of work in health care presents limitations while taking the health needs of the users in its complexity, using tools strict to the health sector and not articulated with the process of social production and reproduction, however, the workers express relations of warmth and responsibilities toward the users of health services. The conduction of the managerial practice, also, presents limitations in the sense that it\'s taken as a tool with enough power to trigger, among workers, a process of reflection and revision of their practice which leads to adhesion and commitment to the process of health production in the way aimed by SUS. Nevertheless, there\'s a movement of attempt, of rehearse, of search...

Submitted by Fabíola Silva (fabiola.silva@famerp.br) on 2017-02-23T19:51:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 prisciladonda_dissert.pdf: 1033152 bytes, checksum: 43fbfa1f01dd1de634d324921e78a310 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-23T19:51:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 prisciladonda_dissert.pdf: 1033152 bytes, checksum: 43fbfa1f01dd1de634d324921e78a310 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-11-30 / INTRODUCTION: leprosy patients should be attended to in primary care, the main entrypoint for healthcare, since the diagnosis is essentially clinical and epidemiological. Continuous education in healthcare has a great potential to change the routine of services, due to the closeness of practice in the life of professionals. OBJECTIVE: to understand the leprosy program carried out by health professionals at Primary Care in three municipalities in the northwest of the State of São Paulo. METHODS: this is a qualitative study of 57 professionals involved with leprosy indicated by the managers of healthcare facilities in three towns in the northwestern region of São Paulo State. Those who did not agree to participate in the study were excluded. Individuals answered a questionnaire to assess their knowledge about leprosy. The results of these questionnaires identified gaps in knowledge that were used in the planning of discussion circles. The discussion circles were based on the assumptions of education (conscientizing/problematizing) of Paulo Freire. Using Bardin's content analysis, three categories with two units of meaning (UM) in each were constructed. RESULTS: Category 1: Current context of leprosy. The population and health professionals present fear, preconception and difficulty to understand the concepts of leprosy.UM 1a: Sociocultural aspects. Feelings linked to ignorance about leprosy and, by the belief that it is a "danger" to others. Lack of knowledge of the population, coupled with other sociocultural and economic aspects, make people vulnerable and propitious to spread the disease. UM 1b: The work of the Health team: knowledge and customer service, knowledge among professionals results in quality care and reflects in a reduction of the bacillary load, increases the early diagnosis rate, and decreases the consequences of the disease. Category 2: Health management and control of leprosy.UM 2a: The leprosy care structure included knowledge of the epidemiological situation, access to services, transportation, admission to the facility, reference and counter-reference systems, treatment flow, communication and health records. UM 2b: Human resource management was related to excess of work, employee turnover, teamwork, ties and layoffs. UM 2b: Human resource management is the training and qualification of professionals. Category 3: Desired and necessary change. UM 3a: Reviewing the work context: reflections on the treatment of leprosy. In the discussions, the creation of a fertile environment for joint reflections allowed visualization of other conducts, which in this case, intended to meet the real needs of the patient. UM 3b: Modifying a practice: a way to meet user needs. This generated ideas on the design of flow charts and protocols for treatment, on education and the addition of new professionals. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: This study clearly shows that "understanding the world" and "sharing with others" transformed the people who participated in the discussion circles. The previous solitary vision allowed for emancipation, the empowerment of those involved and a feeling of responsibility to gain knowledge. It revealed the difficulties in treating leprosy patients and possible suggestions to transform to the reality of each municipal, notable evolution from the discovery and understanding the reality. / INTRODUÇÃO: a hanseníase deve ser atendida na atenção básica, a principal porta de entrada, já que o diagnóstico é essencialmente clínico e epidemiológico. A educação permanente em saúde tem um grande potencial de provocar mudanças no cotidiano dos serviços devido à proximidade da prática na vida dos profissionais. OBJETIVO: compreender o programa de Hanseníase realizado por profissionais de saúde na Atenção Básica em três municípios do noroeste do estado de São Paulo. PERCURSO METODOLÓGICO: trata-se de um estudo qualitativo com 57 profissionais de saúde de três municípios do noroeste do estado de São Paulo, indicados pelos gestores que estavam envolvidos com a hanseníase. Foram excluídos aqueles que não aceitaram participar do estudo. Os sujeitos do estudo responderam a um questionário para avaliação do conhecimento sobre hanseníase, cujos resultados evidenciaram lacunas do conhecimento e foram considerados no planejamento dos círculos de discussão. Os círculos de discussão foram embasados nos pressupostos da educação conscientizadora/problematizadora de Paulo Freire. Mediante a análise de conteúdo de Bardin, foram construídas três categorias e duas Unidades de Significado em cada uma. RESULTADOS: Categoria 1. O contexto atual da hanseníase. A população e profissionais de saúde apresentam medo e preconceito, dificuldade no entendimento dos conceitos da hanseníase. US 1a: Aspectos socioculturais: sentimentos atrelados ao desconhecimento sobre a hanseníase e pela crença de representar “perigo” aos demais. A falta de conhecimento da população, somada a outros aspectos socioculturais e econômicos, torna as pessoas vulneráveis e propícias para a disseminação da doença. US 1b: A atuação da equipe de Saúde: conhecimento e atendimento ao usuário, o conhecimento entre os profissionais resulta no atendimento com qualidade e reflete na redução da carga bacilar, aumenta o diagnóstico precoce e diminui os agravos da doença. Categoria 2 - Gestão em saúde e controle da hanseníase. A US 2a: Estrutura do atendimento à hanseníase abrangeu o conhecimento da situação epidemiológica, o acesso aos serviços, o transporte, o acolhimento, os sistemas de referência e contrarreferência, fluxos de atendimento, comunicação e registros em saúde. US 2b: Gestão de recursos humanos foi relacionada à sobrecarga de trabalho, rotatividade dos profissionais, trabalho em equipe, vínculos e demissões. US 2b: Gestão de recursos humanos são os treinamentos e capacitações dos profissionais. Categoria 3: A mudança desejada e necessária. US 3a: Revendo o contexto de trabalho: reflexões sobre o atendimento à hanseníase. Nas falas, a criação de ambiente fértil para reflexões conjuntas que propiciam a visualização de outros caminhos, que, nesse caso, foram ao encontro das reais necessidades do usuário. US 3b: Modificação de uma prática: um caminho ao encontro das necessidades do usuário. Gerou ideias sobre a elaboração de fluxograma e protocolos de atendimento sobre educação e a inserção de novos profissionais. CONSIDERAÇÕES FINAIS: o estudo pode mostrar claramente que, na “leitura do mundo compartilhada com o outro”, houve uma transformação nas pessoas que participaram dos círculos de discussão. A visão solitária anterior permitiu a emancipação, o empoderamento do envolvidos e o sentimento do compromisso com o conhecimento. Revelou as dificuldades no atendimento à hanseníase e as sugestões possíveis de se transformar a realidade em cada município, evolução impressionante da descoberta e entendimento da realidade.

Essa investigação tem por objeto de estudo o processo gerencial desenvolvido na atenção básica, em específico nas Unidades de Saúde da Família (USF), do município de Marília - SP, Brasil. A Saúde da Família tem se constituído em estratégia para a reorganização da atenção básica e da produção em saúde proposta a partir de 1994, pelo governo brasileiro e sustentada pelos princípios e diretrizes do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS). Um dos desafios nesse processo é o de buscar o comprometimento dos trabalhadores de saúde, assim como o de estabelecer instrumentos, como, por exemplo, a gerência de serviços de saúde, para a reorganização do processo de trabalho em saúde que possibilitem o atendimento das necessidades de saúde da população, e a ação de saúde voltada para a produção de cuidados. Assim o presente estudo tem por objetivos: apreender as características tecnológicas do processo de trabalho em saúde - o objeto, a finalidade, modo de agir e tecnologias utilizadas - na perspectiva do trabalho gerencial nas USFs; identificar e analisar a compreensão acerca do processo gerencial pelos trabalhadores de saúde; analisar a potência da gerência como ferramenta para a consolidação dos princípios e diretrizes do SUS na Saúde da Família. Para tanto aproximamo-nos do referencial da micropolítica do processo de trabalho em saúde. A captação do empírico consistiu em entrevistas semi-estruturadas junto aos trabalhadores de saúde de duas USFs. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à Análise de Conteúdo, modalidade temática. O processo de trabalho desenvolvido nas USFs investigadas foi apreendido a partir de quatro temas identificados no estudo: concepção do trabalho na Saúde da Família; organização do processo de trabalho; trabalho em equipe na produção do cuidado; relação equipe de saúde - usuário na produção do cuidado. A análise e apresentação dos temas pautaram-se pela articulação à configuração teóricometodológica que sustenta a presente investigação. Assim, os temas apresentam-se articulados ao objeto de trabalho na Saúde da Família e projetos que sustentam essa prática em saúde, aos instrumentos e ao modo de agir no cotidiano do serviço e a constituição do processo de gestão/gerência. A análise empreendida aponta que o processo de trabalho em saúde apresenta limites para tomar as necessidades de saúde dos usuários em sua complexidade, utilizando instrumentos estritos ao setor saúde e desarticulados do processo de produção e reprodução social, no entanto, os trabalhadores expressam relações de responsabilização e acolhimento junto aos usuários dos serviços de saúde. A condução da prática gerencial, também, apresenta limites, para ser tomada como um instrumento com potência para desencadear no conjunto dos trabalhadores um processo de reflexão e revisão sobre sua prática e os encaminhe à adesão e comprometimento a um processo de produção de cuidados à saúde na direção apontada pelo SUS, porém há um movimento de tentativa, de ensaio, de procura ... / This investigation has as it study object the managerial process developed in the basic attention, specifically in the USFs (Family Health Units) from the city of Marília - SP, Brazil. The Family Health has been constituted in strategy for the reorganization of the basic attention and the production in health care, proposed since 1994 by the Brazilian government and sustained by the principles and polices of the SUS (State Health System). One of the challenges in this process is seeking for commitment of the health workers, as well as establishing instruments, such as, for instance, the management of the health services for the reorganization of the work process in the health area which enables the fulfillment of the population\'s needs for health care and the health action focused on the production of care. Thus, the current study has as its objective: to learn the technological characteristics of the work process in health care - the object, the aim, the way of acting and the technologies used - in the perspective of the managerial work in the USFs; to identify and analyze the understanding about the managerial process by the health care workers; analyze the power of the management as a tool for the consolidation of the principles and policies of SUS in the Family Health. For such, we approached the referential of the micro politics in the process of the health care work. The gathering of the empiric constituted of semi-structured interviews with the health workers in two USFs. The collected data were subjected to Content Analysis, thematic modality. The work process developed in the investigated USFs was apprehended from four identified themes in the study: Conception of the Work in the Family Health; Organization of the Work Process; Team Work in the Production of Care; Relation Health Team - User in the Production of Care. The analysis and presentation of the themes were lined by their articulation with the theorical-methodological configuration which sustains the current investigation. Therefore, the themes are presented articulated to the work object in the Family Health and projects which sustain this practice in health, to the tools and the way of acting in the daily service and to the constitution of the process conduct/ management. The apprehended analysis points that the process of work in health care presents limitations while taking the health needs of the users in its complexity, using tools strict to the health sector and not articulated with the process of social production and reproduction, however, the workers express relations of warmth and responsibilities toward the users of health services. The conduction of the managerial practice, also, presents limitations in the sense that it\'s taken as a tool with enough power to trigger, among workers, a process of reflection and revision of their practice which leads to adhesion and commitment to the process of health production in the way aimed by SUS. Nevertheless, there\'s a movement of attempt, of rehearse, of search...

This research examined if there is a relationship between engagement in quality improvement (QI) and health information technology (HIT) for local health departments (LHDs) controlling for workforce, finance, population, and governance structure. This was a cross-sectional study that analyzed data obtained from the Core questions and Module 1 in the NACCHO 2010 Profile of LHDs. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Findings suggest that LHD engagement in QI has a relationship with utilization of HIT including electronic health records, practice management systems, and electronic syndromic surveillance systems. This study provides baseline information about the HIT use of LHDs. LHDs and their system partners (hospitals, federally qualified health centers, and primary care providers) that utilize HIT as part of their QI decision making may have an easier time of using data to support evidence-based decision making and implementing the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 in order to achieve population health for all.

Health system mergers and acquisitions (M&As) have increased exponentially in recent years as a result of the Affordable Care Act (Brown, Werling, Walker, Burgdorfer & Shields, 2012). M&As are consummated as a way to control for interdependencies within the market, control costs and leverage debt, and negotiate better rates among health insurers (Bolman & Deal, 2013; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Mirc, 2013). Regardless of the impetus for a merger, the largest predictor of the success or failure of a M&A lies within the organizational culture (Brown, et al., 2012; Cooper & Finkelstein, 2010; Kastor, 2010; Ovseiko, Melham, Fowler & Buchan, 2015). The purpose of this research was to assess the organizational culture of two competing health organizations prior to a planned merger and understand whether there were significant differences in pre-merger culture compared to a post-merger preferred organizational culture using the Competing Values Framework (CVF). The population included all employees of both health systems with the survey respondent sample stratified by the following employee types: (Tier 1), entry-level employee; (Tier 2), supervisory level, and, (Tier 3), executive level. Statistical procedures included independent t tests, one-way and two-way analyses of variance. Findings indicated a statistically significant difference existed between the current cultures of the health systems prior to the merger; however, both systems sets of employees preferred a post-merger organizational culture that was not statistically different from each other. Further, there were significant differences in the cultural perceptions of Tier 1 employees and Tier 2 employees and no significant differences between Tier 3 employee perceptions of culture as compared to Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Primary care physician (PCP) shortages have been a barrier to accessing care for millions of Americans, particularly those living in areas facing the worst shortages - primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). Increased use of nurse practitioners (NPs) has been proposed as a solution to the shortages as NPs can effectively substitute for PCPs. However, this proposal has been hampered by regulatory restrictions on NP scope-of-practice (SOP) that exist in many states. While some states permit NPs to practice and prescribe medications independent of physicians (NP independence), others require extensive physician supervision that limit NPs ability to provide care and substitute for PCPs. Despite the limitations that restrictive regulations pose to improving access to primary care, research evidence of their effect on access in primary care HPSAs is limited. This dissertation fills this gap in the literature. Using individual-level data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys (1996-2015) and a difference-in-differences approach, I exploit variation in NP independence across states and over time to evaluate the impact of NP independence on access to primary care in HPSAs Further, I examined for heterogeneity in the effect of NP independence between HPSAs and non-HPSAs as well as effect heterogeneity in HPSAs based on individual (age, insurance status, and insurance type) and health system characteristics (availability of primary care facilities and NP Medicaid reimbursement rate) I find that NP independence led to a 5% increase in the number of individuals with a primary care provider and a 2% increase in the use of non-physicians (relative to physicians) as the primary care provider in HPSAs. However, non-HPSAs experienced no significant changes in access to care. Further, I find evidence of heterogeneity in the effect of NP independence in HPSAs for all three individual characteristics but find no significant effect heterogeneity for any of the health system characteristics. Non-elderly individuals experienced greater improvements in access following NP independence compared to their elderly counterparts, and while both insured and uninsured individuals experienced improvements in access to care, uninsured individuals benefitted more from NP independence. Further, I find evidence of greater improvements in access to care among Medicaid beneficiaries relative to their privately insured and Medicare counterparts. These findings imply that removing regulatory restrictions on NP SOP could be an effective policy strategy for mitigating the effects of PCP shortages and improving access to care in HPSAs. Further, they demonstrate that NP independence could be a viable tool for addressing access to care issues in two traditionally underserved populations – the uninsured and Medicaid beneficiaries. Beyond addressing access issues, NP independence could also mitigate rising health care costs. The finding of increased use of lower-cost non-physicians rather than their more costly physician counterparts after NP independence indicates that this policy change could also bring about cost savings for society.

Musculoskeletal complaints are one of the most common reasons for visits to medical and chiropractic professionals in the United States, and spine-related symptoms in particular comprise the largest share of these complaints. Spine-related conditions increase as people age, having implications for rising disability and consequent spending by Medicare and Medicaid on increased health services use and long-term services and support. Chiropractic is one type of treatment used by older adults with these types of health problems. Covered by Medicare since 1972, chiropractic spinal manipulation is allowed for the express purpose to arrest the progression of functional decline or restore and possibly improve patient function. No studies, however, have examined whether chiropractic use by Medicare beneficiaries has indeed arrested functional decline, delayed disability, or restored health. The purpose of this dissertation research is to examine the comparative effectiveness of chiropractic use relative to no treatment and alternative medical care on the health and functional trajectories of community-dwelling older adults. I also examine the comparative effect of chiropractic on satisfaction with care. This is accomplished through the use of two longitudinal surveys with representative Medicare populations linked to Medicare provider claims. The first analysis examines the long-term comparative effect of chiropractic relative to no use and alternative care on functional decline, self-rated health decline, and the onset of additional depressive symptoms in a cohort of older Medicare beneficiaries, both with and without back conditions. The second study examines the effect of chiropractic compared to medical only episodes of care on health and functional decline in an older adult population with uncomplicated back conditions over a two-year period. The third and final study examines the comparative effect of chiropractic relative to medical care only on one-year changes in function, self-rated health, and satisfaction with care in a nationally representative age-eligible Medicare population with spine-related musculoskeletal conditions. Study results suggest that chiropractic has a consistently protective effect when compared to routine alternative medical care against decline in function among older adults with spine-related conditions, both over the long-term and the short-term. Chiropractic also has a comparative protective effect against decline in self-rated health in the short-term, but has no differential effect on the onset of depressive symptoms either in the short-term or long-term . Medicare beneficiaries using chiropractic for spine-related health conditions are relatively more satisfied than those using medical care only with the information provided to them about their condition, and with follow-up care provided after the initial visit. This research is the first of its kind to examine the comparative effectiveness of chiropractic relative to other usual sources of care for Medicare beneficiaries, in general and specifically among those with spine-related conditions, finding that chiropractic use has a comparatively beneficial effect on function, health, and satisfaction with care. The results have important policy implications for clinicians, patients, and Medicare because of the potential to shift clinical practice away from technologically intense and expensive treatments toward therapies like chiropractic spinal manipulation that demonstrate a comparative advantage in preserving health and function among older adults.

Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) – the predominant type of hospital operating in rural areas – play an integral role in the US healthcare system, providing care for over 7 million rural residents each year who might otherwise have no local access to urgent care or inpatient services. This dissertation examines three aspects of care delivery in CAHs – effectiveness, cost/efficiency, and access – each of which has separate implications for policy and practice. The first study addresses effectiveness and evaluates the performance of CAHs on specific patient safety indicators compared to small Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals. A total of 35,674 discharges from 136 non-federal general hospitals with fewer than 50 beds were included in the analyses: 14,296 from 100 CAHs and 21,378 from 36 PPS hospitals. Outcome measures included six bivariate indicators of adverse events of surgical care that were developed from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators. Multiple logistic regression models were developed to examine the relationship between hospital adverse events and CAH status. The results indicated that compared to PPS hospitals, CAHs are less likely to have any observed (unadjusted) adverse event on all six indicators, four of which are statistically significant. After adjusting for patient mix and hospital characteristics, CAHs perform better on three of the six indicators. Accounting for the number of discharges eliminated the differences between CAHs and PPS hospitals in the likelihood of adverse events across all indicators except one. Tele-emergency (tele-ED) services can address several challenges facing emergency departments (EDs) in rural areas. The second study investigates access and characterizes the impact of a rural-ED-based telemedicine program on discharge disposition in terms of patient transfer, local hospital admission, and routine discharge. This study tests the hypothesis that telemedicine enhances access by allowing patients to receive care in the local community, and does so by looking at the probability of transfer and local admissions before and after telemedicine was implemented in CAHs. The results indicate that in the post-telemedicine period, patients were 38% less likely to be admitted to the local inpatient facility than to be routinely discharged [aOR=0.62, 95%CI=(0.57,0.67)] after adjusting for age, sex, race, time of visit, clinical diagnosis, CPT code, number of diagnoses, and admitting hospital. The third study addresses cost and efficiency by modeling the financial implications of using the same telemedicine program to avoid transfers and estimating the costs and benefits associated with tele-ED implementation in CAHs. Analysis is based on 9,048 tele-ED encounters generated by the Avera eEmergency program in 85 rural hospitals across seven states between October 2009 and February 2014. For each non-transfer patient, physicians indicated whether the transfer was avoided because of tele-ED activation. The cost-benefit analysis is conducted from the hospital, patient, and societal perspectives, and includes technology costs, local hospital revenues, and patient-associated savings. The results show that 1,175 avoided transfers could be attributed to tele-ED. From a rural hospital perspective, tele-ED costs around $1,739 to avoid a single transfer but saves approximately $5,563 in avoided transportation and indirect patient costs. From a societal perspective, tele-ED results in a net savings of $3,823 per avoided transfer while accounting for tele-ED technology costs, hospital revenues, and patient-associated savings. This study highlights various stakeholder perspectives on the financial impact of tele-ED in avoiding patient transfers in rural EDs. Telemedicine has the potential to reduce the number of transfers of ED patients and generate some revenue for rural hospitals despite associated technology costs, while incurring substantial patient savings.

The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a new model for primary care delivery intended to improve the care experience for both patients and providers, improve the health of populations, and reduce health care costs. Adopting the PCMH model into practice requires considerable investment of time and resources which often act as barriers for many small primary care practices; especially in rural areas. Few studies have examined performance of the PCMH model in rural clinics that have successfully implemented the model. It is important to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how context from the surrounding environment relates to implementation and performance of the model and whether there are differences between rural and urban primary care clinics. This study used a sequential explanatory mixed methods approach to assess differences in performance of the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) model between rural and urban primary care clinics within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Generalized Estimating Equations with repeated measures were used to estimate associations between rurality and five process-oriented endpoints among a national sample of 891 VHA primary care clinics. Results indicate that, after adjusting for patient characteristics and clinic structural capacity, clinics located in large rural or small/isolated rural areas demonstrated difficulty with enhancing access through use of non-traditional encounters (i.e. telephone visits, group visits, or secured messaging) and facilitating care coordination through post-discharge follow-up compared to urban clinics. Findings also suggest that rural clinics were more likely to struggle to meet system-wide performance standards for these same two PACT-related processes than their urban counterparts. A multiple-case study of five VHA primary care clinics was conducted to obtain a contextual understanding of the relationships between rurality and performance of PACT processes from the perspective of primary care staff engaged in PACT implementation. A comparison of the experiences of staff across the five cases revealed cross-cutting themes that are important to understanding the implementation and performance of PACT-related processes within these clinics. These themes included: both rural and urban clinics experience distance-related barriers; patient preferences and behavior impact performance of PACT-related processes; and primary care clinics experience frequent change. Findings from this qualitative assessment highlight the importance of understanding the unique context and circumstances experienced by each clinic and how they relate to performance and implementation of the PACT model. Insights gained through the qualitative assessment revealed that performance of PACT is influenced by complex relationships with both internal and external context. Combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods provided a more comprehensive understanding of these relationships beyond what could have been learned from a solitary assessment of standardized metrics by gaining additional context directly from the voices of those engaged in PACT care delivery. Identifying differences in PACT performance between rural and urban clinics calls attention to the possibility of unique advantages and challenges for PACTs delivering care to rural patients which need further exploration. Findings from this study contribute to the current understanding of PCMH implementation in rural settings by moving beyond the barriers related to structural capacity to performance of processes aligned with PCMH principles. More widespread implementation of PCMH will require additional attention to the complex relationships between the PCMH and surrounding context in order for primary care practices to successfully implement the model.