Tyler Malone, PhD

Phone: 919.996.9484
Email: tmalone@email.unc.edu

Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
725 MLK Jr. Blvd
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Current Projects - (2)

Financial Consequences of Growth in the Number of Rural Referral Centers
Since Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services amended its regulations to allow hospitals in urban areas to reclassify as rural, over 400 hospitals have obtained status as a Rural Referral Center. This project will estimate the costs to hospital Medicare payment and profitability.
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare
Long-term Implications of Declining Inpatient Revenue on Bed Surge Capacity and Emergency Preparedness
Inpatient use and key health care services offered at rural hospitals have declined over the past decade. Has the quest for efficiency in hospitals led to a dangerously low surge capacity and ability to effectively handle public health emergencies?
Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Medicare

An Updated Model of Rural Hospital Financial Distress
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 10/2024
In fall 2024, the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program completed a study modeling financial distress among rural hospitals, "An Updated Model of Rural Hospital Financial Distress." The model updates a 2016 version, by adding recent changes in the operating environment.

Suitability of Low-Volume Rural Emergency Departments to New Rural Emergency Hospital Designation
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 09/2023
The Rural Emergency Hospital is a new Medicare payment model that requires hospitals to focus on emergency, observation, and outpatient services in lieu of inpatient care. This study's exploratory objective was to examine care delivery from eligible hospitals to assess their fit with the new payment model.

Predictors of Hospital Bypass for Rural Residents Seeking Common Elective Surgery
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 08/2022
This article used Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases to evaluate rates and predictors for patients bypassing rural hospitals for common procedures.
The Economic Effects of Rural Hospital Closures
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 03/2022
This study updates previous research (Holmes, et al. 2006) on the economic effects of rural hospital closures by measuring the economic changes over time among U.S. rural counties that had a hospital closure from 2001-2018.

Decline in Inpatient Volume at Rural Hospitals
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 12/2020
This study examined inpatient volume in rural hospitals between 2011 and 2017. Patient population and the organizational and geographic characteristics of hospitals that were significant predictors of inpatient volume included census region, Medicare payment type, ownership type, total margin, and percent of the population in poverty.