Study Reveals Rural Hospitals Deliver High Value to 25% of Americans

News provided by

Apr 22, 2014, 11:31 ET

PORTLAND, Maine, April 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- iVantage Health Analytics today released the 2014 Rural Relevance Under Healthcare Reform Study. Key findings highlight that rural hospitals are delivering value in key areas:

Rural hospitals charge 63% less than their urban counterparts.
Spending per beneficiary for rural hospitals could save $6.8 billion if adopted by all.
Quality, patient safety, outcomes and satisfaction are equal, while price and efficiency in the emergency department are better.
And patients' total time in the rural emergency department is 56 minutes faster than in urban facilities. Fifty percent of those ED visits occurred during normal business hours and are for low acuity cases.

"Rural healthcare providers provide an important safety net to communities across the country, serving 80 million of the US population. The Study findings challenge the assumption that rural hospitals are more costly, inefficient, and have lower levels of quality and patient satisfaction," said John Morrow, executive vice president of iVantage Health Analytics. "We applaud the rural healthcare industry and its many performance leaders, as they set new levels of achievement for their peers and the industry at large with their delivery of high value and patient-centered care."

"The NRHA is pleased with the release of this study and its significant findings regarding the value that rural providers yield for their communities," said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association. "We've always known that the nation's rural hospitals and clinics perform at high levels of quality while doing so at lower cost. This study, once again, documents these facts in great detail and will be useful in our advocacy on their behalf."

The Top 100 Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) were announced along with the Study of the rural hospital industry. CMS designation of a CAH is a hospital that has less than 25 inpatient beds, has a 96-hour average length of stay, offers 24/7 emergency care, and is 35 miles away from another hospital. To download a copy of the Rural Relevance Study or view the complete list of the Top 100 CAHs, visit iVantageHealth.com.

About iVantage Health Analytics

iVantage is a leading advisory and business analytic services company applying Accelerated Healthcare Transformation™ and the VantagePoints™ platform to drive sustained, evidence-based results. The company's unique combination of technology, content, and expert advisory services accelerates decision making for the new healthcare.