iVantage Health Analytics released a quarterly update to their ongoing tracking study monitoring the rerformance of rural healthcare under the Affordable Care Act. Summary findings from research conducted by iVantage shed new, multi-dimensional light on the rural healthcare delivery system using: the latest Medicare Shared Savings data files; the first nationwide hospital rating system to evaluate community and rural hospitals including all 1,326 Critical Access Hospitals; and the industry’s largest proprietary rural Emergency Department database.

The misunderstanding that rural hospitals are more costly, inefficient and have lower quality and satisfaction is empirically challenged. More importantly as providers and developers seek to address the New Healthcare using innovative delivery models, the rural setting must be better understood and included in any strategy for patient-centered care. Read more and download the full study here.