Background: In the mid-1990s, significant gaps existed in the quality of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) care between rural and urban hospitals. Since then, overall AMI care quality has improved. This study uses more recent data to determine whether rural-urban AMI quality gaps have persisted. Methods: Using inpatient records data for 34,776…

Context: Cancer care requires specialty surgical and medical resources that are less likely to be found in rural areas. Purpose: To examine the travel patterns and distances of rural and urban colorectal cancer (CRC) patients to 3 types of specialty cancer care services--surgery, medical oncology consultation, and radiation oncology consultation.…

Context: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is a common and important cause of admission to US rural hospitals, as transport of patients with AMI to urban settings can result in unacceptable delays in care. Purpose: To examine the quality of care for patients with AMI in rural hospitals with differing degrees of remoteness from urban centers.…

Context: Patients in rural areas may use less medical care than those living in urban areas. This could be due to differences in travel distance and time and a utilization of a different mix of generalists and specialists for their care. Purpose: To compare the travel times, distances, and physician specialty mix of all Medicare patients living in…

Between 1980 and 1988, 132 rural hospitals closed and as a result many rural towns also lost physicians, including 19 communities that were still without a physician 2 years after closure. Smaller, more remote towns had few physicians to begin with and were more likely than larger towns to lose physicians along with their hospitals. (LP)