Rural Health Clinic Background and Research

• A Comparison of the Rural Health Clinic and Federally Qualified Health Center Programs, HRSA: June 2006.

• Meaningful Use of the Electronic Health Records by Rural Health Clinics. -  This report “identifies the rates of electronic health record (EHR) adoption among a national random sample of Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and the extent to which RHCs that have adopted an EHR are likely to achieve Stage 1 meaningful use. February 2014.

• Profile of Rural Health Clinics: Clinic and Medicare Patient Characteristics - This report “presents a summary of the geographic distribution and clinic-level characteristics of rural health clinics, as well as an overview of the Medicare beneficiaries they served.” March 2013. 

• Profile of Rural Health Clinics: Medicare Payments & Common Diagnoses: Review of 2009 Medicare Outpatient Claims Data - “Using data extracted from 2009 Medicare outpatient provider claims, this brief presents a summary profile of Medicare billing and reimbursement activity for independent and provider-based RHCs.” December 2012.

Operations and Policy

• Comparison of Rural Health Clinic and Federally Qualified Health Center Programs - This document provides a general comparison of the financial components of the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) programs under Medicare and Medicaid. June 6, 2006.

• Effective Collaboration Between Critical Access Hospitals and Federally Qualified Health Centers, HRSA: April 2010.

• Starting a Rural Health Clinic – A How-to Manual - This manual provides information on RHC qualifications, feasibility, and filing an application, along with preparing for certification, completing a cost report, RHC coding and billing, and other information.

Reimbursement

• Road to 10 - An online resource to support ICD-10 preparations.

Rural Health Clinic Resources

• CMS Rural Health Clinics Home Page - This site provides RHC updates on policy changes, rules and regulations, billing and reimbursement, enrollment/certification, and other information.

• National Association of Rural Health Clinics - The National Association of Rural Health Clinics is RHCs’ national trade association. The website features regular updates on reimbursement, events, resources, funding/grant opportunities, policy changes, links to other valuable resources, and there is a member portal.

• 3RNet – National Rural Recruitment and Retention Network - A network of rural stakeholder who support rural organizations in the recruitment and retention of physicians and other health professionals.

• Rural Health Information Hub (RHIhub) formerly Rural Assistance Center - The RHIhub is a national health and human services information portal. It includes tools, resources, research and other searchable information including grant opportunities.

• RHC News Listserve - Operated by NARHC, the news listserve is a healthcare blog, where participants are appraised of news and where participants can pose rural health clinic questions. All participants can answer questions, so a NARHC administration monitors the site, assuring incorrect information is not being disseminated. To sign up contact vperkins@narhc.org.

• RHC Technical Assistance Calls Listserve - The Technical Assistance listserve is a training site operated by NARHC, where participants are notified of upcoming webinars such as, ICD-10, updates on the RHC Manual, and quality improvement. To sign up contact vperkins@narhc.org.

• ​Rural Health Clinic Technical Assistance Series - Approximately five calls are held each year to provide RHCs with information on operational and policy issues specific to RHCs. The series is conducted in coordination with NARHC and are recorded and made available on this website. Past series have featured: ICD-10, RHC manual updates, Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program, Civil Rights, Compliance Programs, and others.

• Rural Health Research Gateway - This site provides links to research centers that conduct research related to rural health clinics.

• Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Rural Health Clinics Center - This site provides Wisconsin specific information and resources about RHCs, including a complete list of RHCs in the state.