Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs)
Research Products & Journal Articles
Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.
Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.
Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.
2024
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The First Year of Rural Emergency Hospitals: REHs Serve Relatively Disadvantaged Counties
Policy Brief
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 10/2024
This brief looks at community characteristics (socio-economic, race and ethnicity, and health status and access characteristics) of communities with a hospital that converted to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) in 2023—the first year of the new rural hospital payment designation.
2023
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Rural Emergency Hospital Map and Data
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 10/2023
This interactive map tracks hospitals that have converted to Rural Emergency Hospitals since January 2023. -
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.
2022
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Characteristics of Rural Hospitals Eligible for Conversion to Rural Emergency Hospitals and Three Rural Hospitals Considering Conversion
Policy Brief
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 12/2022
This brief presents 2021 data for Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)-eligible hospitals, compares financial and operational measures of three rural hospitals that have expressed interest in REH conversion to all REH-eligible hospitals, and discusses what factors may ultimately determine the number of rural hospitals that convert to REH. -
Key Considerations for a Rural Hospital Assessing Conversion to Rural Emergency Hospital
Policy Brief
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 10/2022
Based on findings from a literature review and consultation with practitioners, a conceptual framework and checklist were developed to organize and guide conversations about key considerations for conversion to a Rural Emergency Hospital. -
Small Rural Hospitals with Low-Volume Emergency Departments That May Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital (REH)
Policy Brief
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 10/2022
This study profiles rural hospitals eligible to convert to Rural Emergency Hospitals. The objective is to characterize rural hospitals with very low emergency department volume to inform the clinical and operational decisions that will be required to implement this new provider model.
2021
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How Many Hospitals Might Convert to a Rural Emergency Hospital?
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 07/2021
In this study, three measures were used to predict the number of rural hospitals with 50 beds or less that are likely to consider conversion to a Rural Emergency Hospital: 1) three years negative total margin; 2) average daily census (acute + swing) less than three; and 3) net patient revenue less than $20 million.