New Report Shows Significant Differences Between Rural, Urban Hospitals
February 05, 2010
The nation's 2,000 rural hospitals have more Medicare patients, fewer private-pay patients and a significantly different mix of illnesses than urban hospitals, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
The AHRQ's recent News and Numbers report found that in 2007:
- 45 percent of all stays in rural hospitals were covered by Medicare, compared with 35 percent in urban hospitals.
- 25 percent of rural hospital patients had private health insurance, compared with 36 percent in urban hospitals.
- One-fifth of patients in both rural and urban hospitals had Medicaid.
- 5 percent of patients in both settings were uninsured.
- Half of rural hospitals had fewer than 50 beds, compared with only one-fifth of urban hospitals.
The report also found that the five most frequent illnesses among two-thirds of hospitalized patients in 2007 were:
- In rural hospitals: (1) pneumonia, (2) congestive heart failure, (3) chronic obstructive lung disease, (4) chest pain, and (5) fluid and electrolyte disorders, primarily dehydration and fluid overload.
- In urban hospitals: (1) hardening of the arteries, (2) osteoarthritis, (3) back disorders, (4) medical device, implant or graft complications, and (5) heart attack.
Read the AHRQ report on rural hospitals.
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