<p>The <a href="http://www.raconline.org/">Rural Assistance Center</a> (RAC) and <a href="http://www.norc.org/Research/Departments/Pages/public-health-research/w… Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis</a> are announcing a new <a href="http://www.raconline.org/communityhealth/care-coordination">Rural Care Coordination Toolkit</a> to help rural communities and organizations identify and implement a care coordination program. This toolkit contains resources to help communities develop programs that can improve quality and continuity of care, as well as patient outcomes, building on best practices of successful care coordination program models. The <a href="http://www.raconline.org/communityhealth/care-coordination">toolkit is available for free</a> on the RAC website.</p>
<p>“Care coordination empowers patients to take care of their health which often results in better health outcomes.  For example, patients in care coordination programs often take a pro-active role in seeking timely health care and are less likely to seek care in emergency departments,” commented Alana Knudson, Co-Director of the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis. “Many care coordination programs have also been instrumental in helping elderly patients live independently in their rural communities. The Care Coordination toolkit is a great resource for rural health care providers who would like to implement a program that addresses their patients’ unique needs.”</p>
<p>The toolkit is made up of several modules. Each concentrates on different aspects of developing and implementing care coordination programs. Modules also include resources to use in developing a program.</p>
<p>Content for the Rural Care Coordination Toolkit was developed by the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis as part of the <a href="http://www.raconline.org/communityhealth/">Rural Community Health Gateway</a>. The Gateway, located on the RAC website, is designed to help rural communities learn about proven methods of providing rural residents with better access to health care services. Development of these resources is part of an ongoing effort by NORC and RAC to provide evidence-based health information to rural America.</p>
<p>Funding for this project is provided by the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration.</p>