A Comparison of Rural and Urban Dermatology

Abstract

KEY FINDINGS Rural and urban specialty hospitals differ in the following characterisics. -Number of hospitals. Rural specialty hospitals make up a small frac?on of the total number of specialty hospitals: only 6.5% of Long‐term Acute Care Hospitals (LTCHs), 14.5% of Inpaient Psychiatric Facili?es (IPFs), and 5.0% of Inpa?ent Rehabilita?on Faciliies (IRFs) are located in rural areas. -Number of inpaient beds per facility. Rural specialty hospitals have fewer inpaient beds per facility than urban specialty hospitals. -Percent of inpaient days for people who live in rural areas. The percent of total days of care that are provided to rural residents is higher in rural LTCHs, IPFs, and IRFs. ? Percent of inpaient days for Medicare beneficiaries. The percent of total days of care that are provided to Medicare beneficiaries is higher in rural LTCHs and IRFs, but about the same for rural and urban IPFs.