Publications

The Flex Monitoring Team completes projects each year in a variety of topic areas such as CAH financial and operational improvement, patient safety, quality of care, Emergency Medical Services, and social determinants of health. These publications aim to evaluate the Flex Program and disseminate information to State Flex Programs, CAHs, and the general public. Our publications offer a wide range of information about Flex Program activities, best practices in CAHs, financial, quality, and community measures, and hospital services. Below is a list of publications from the Flex Monitoring Team. Publications are listed chronologically, in descending order. You can search by title and filter by topics and state. For data reports and publications relevant to specific states, please visit our State Profiles.

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John Gale, Celia Jewell, Karen Pearson
National attention on the financial vulnerability of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and rural hospitals and their risk of closure is not a new…
Madeleine Pick, Megan Lahr, Abigail Wenninger, Dori Cross, Ben Weideman
Most Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) utilize at least a basic Electronic Health Record (EHR), but continue to lag in some of the more advanced EHR…
Madeleine Pick, Alyssa Furukawa, Megan Lahr, Dori Cross
While nearly all U.S. hospitals, including Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), now utilize Electronic Health Records (EHRs), concerns remain that CAHs…
Zach Croll, Celia Jewell, John Gale
The Flex Monitoring Team (FMT) has released a brief on the operation of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) and local health department (LDH) partnerships…
Ariana Pitcher, Ruoyu Zhang, Susie Gurzenda, George Pink, Kristin L. Reiter
Non-operating revenue (NOR) is an important source of hospital revenue; some hospitals are able to use NOR to offset operating losses, improve total…
John Gale, Celia Jewell, Karen Pearson
Prior FMT rural Emergency Medical Services (EMS) studies have identified critical information gaps facing EMS agencies and systems of care. These…
Megan Lahr, Alyssa Furukawa, Madeleine Pick, Robert Barclay
This report summarizes reporting rates and performance among U.S. Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) on Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement…
Robert Barclay, Megan Lahr, Hannah MacDougall, Abigail Wenninger
In rural communities, the need for hospice services is increasing as the number of rural hospice providers decreases and demand for hospice continues…
Ariana Pitcher, Ruoyu Zhang, Susie Gurzenda, George Pink, Kristin L. Reiter
Healthcare Cost Report Information System data from 2011 to 2019 were used to analyze sources of revenue among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and…
John Gale, Karen Pearson
This is the final summary report on the Evaluation of the Flex Program's EMS Supplement Funding Grantees. This three-year funding was awarded to…