"Retta Jacobi stepped onto a metal platform that lifted her to an entrance on the side of a custom-designed semitrailer. Once inside, she lay down on a platform that technicians slid into an MRI machine. Jacobi hoped the scan would help pinpoint the source of the pain in her shoulders. The mobile MRI unit visits Southwest Healthcare Services, the hospital in Bowman, North Dakota, each Wednesday."
"Southwest Healthcare Services and 21 other independent, rural North Dakota hospitals are part of the Rough Rider Network, which used its members' combined patient rolls to negotiate better prices for the mobile imaging truck. Independent rural hospitals are increasingly joining what are called clinically integrated networks, collaborative groups that allow them to avoid selling out to larger health systems while sharing resources to save money and improve patient care."
A mobile MRI visits Southwest Healthcare Services weekly so local residents can receive imaging without a 40-minute drive, because the hospital could not afford its own MRI. Southwest Healthcare Services and 21 other rural North Dakota hospitals joined the Rough Rider Network to pool patient rolls and negotiate lower prices for the mobile imaging truck. Independent rural hospitals are increasingly joining clinically integrated networks to share resources, reduce costs, and improve patient care while maintaining autonomy rather than merging with larger systems. Many hospitals pursue combined patient populations to qualify for value-based care contracts and explore Rural Health Transformation Program funding to start or expand networks.
Read at kffhealthnews.org
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