A PLANNING PROCESS FOR CHANGING RURAL HEALTH CARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS

THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A WRITTEN SET OF PLANNING PROTOCOLS, STATISTICAL ALGORITHMS, AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE THAT WILL ASSIST RURAL HOSPITALS AND THEIR COMMUNITIES IN EVALUATING THE EFFICACY AND FINANCIAL CONDITIONS OF THEIR HOSPITALS AND HEALTH-CARE DELIVERY SYSTEMS IN PLANNING FOR CHANGE. THE PROTOCOLS ARE TO BE DESIGNED AS PLANNING STEPS THAT USE HISTORICAL DATA ON HOSPITAL OCCUPANCY RATES, CASE MIX, POPULATION, INSURANCE, AND INCOME AS WELL AS OTHER DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION AND CURRENT AND ANTICIPATED REGULATORY AND MANPOWER INFORMATION NEEDED TO MAKE SOUND DECISIONS FOR CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE HEALTH-CARE DELIVERY SYSTEM. PHASE I OF THE PROJECT WILL CONSIST OF DESIGNING THE PLANNING PROCESS, THE STATISTICAL MODELS TO BE TESTED, AND THE MEASURES TO BE USED AND DETERMINING THE AVAILABILITYAND QUALITY OF THE DATA TO BE USED. PHASE II WILL CONSIST OF COLLECTING THE DATA AND TESTING THE MODELS, DESIGNING THESOFTWARE, AND WRITING THE PLANNING MANUAL FOR USE IN THE FIELD. THE PROCESS WILL BE TESTED WITH RURAL COMMUNITIES IN MAINE.