Medication Safety Issue Brief. Small and rural hospitals--unique challenges, unique solutions.

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.