Hosp Health Netw. 2005 Nov;79(11):45-6.
Small rural hospital pharmacies face ths same quality challenges as their large, urban counterparts. Yes, they often lack access to the necessary resources to address these issues. That's no minor problem. AHA Hospital Statistics 2006 reports that 2,003 (41 percent) of the nation's 4,919 community hospitals in 2004 were rural. And, as of Aug. 31, 2005, 1,141 hospitals in the United States are designated as critical access hospitals. People living in rural areas are less likely to have insurance and are by and large poorer than those who live in urban areas, according to the National Rural Health Association. The rural population is also older and tends to suffer from more chronic diseases than residents of urban areas. That adds to the challenge for small and rural hospitals. These facilities must treat complex medical cases with limited resources, often with minimal on-site pharmacy coverage.
农村小型医院药房面临着与城市大型医院药房相同的质量挑战。的确，它们往往缺乏解决这些问题所需的资源。这可不是个小问题。《2006年美国医院协会医院统计数据》报告称，2004年美国4919家社区医院中有2003家（41%）是农村医院。而且，截至2005年8月31日，美国有1141家医院被指定为急救医院。根据美国农村卫生协会的数据，农村地区的居民比城市居民更不容易获得保险，而且总体上更贫困。农村人口的年龄也更大，往往比城市居民患更多的慢性病。这给小型农村医院带来了更大的挑战。这些医疗机构必须用有限的资源治疗复杂的医疗病例，而且现场药房的覆盖范围往往很小。
