Tools & Resources

The Rural Health Transformation Program

The Rural Health Transformation (RHT) Program helps State governments to support rural communities across America in improving healthcare access, quality, and outcomes by transforming the healthcare delivery ecosystem. The RHT Program focuses on promoting innovation, strategic partnerships, infrastructure development, and workforce investment.
States will help rural communities meet these strategic goals:

• Make rural America healthy again: Support rural health innovations and new access points to promote preventative health and address root causes of diseases. Projects will use evidence-based, outcomes-driven interventions to improve disease prevention, chronic disease management, behavioral health, and prenatal care.
• Sustainable access: Help rural providers become long-term access points for care by improving efficiency and sustainability. With RHT Program support, rural facilities work together—or with high-quality regional systems—to share or coordinate operations, technology, primary and specialty care, and emergency services.
• Workforce development: Attract and retain a high-skilled health care workforce by strengthening recruitment and retention of healthcare providers in rural communities. Help rural providers practice at the top of their license and develop a broader set of providers to serve a rural community’s needs, such as community health workers, pharmacists, and individuals trained to help patients navigate the healthcare system.
• Innovative care: Spark the growth of innovative care models to improve health outcomes, coordinate care, and promote flexible care arrangements. Develop and implement payment mechanisms incentivizing providers or Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) to reduce health care costs, improve quality of care, and shift care to lower cost settings.
• Tech innovation: Foster use of innovative technologies that promote efficient care delivery, data security, and access to digital health tools by rural facilities, providers, and patients. Projects support access to remote care, improve data sharing, strengthen cybersecurity, and invest in emerging technologies.

Read more about the program here, read the program application guide here.

Funding Agency: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid

Application Dates: November 5, 2025

Using Innovative Digital Healthcare Solutions to Improve Quality at the Point of Care

This NOFO invites applications that propose research projects that test promising digital healthcare interventions used at the point of care and aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services delivery. This NOFO will use the Phased Innovation Award (R21/R33) mechanism to provide up to 2 years of R21 support for initial developmental activities, and up to 3 years of R33 support for expanded activities.

Funding Agency: Department of Health and Human Services

Application Dates: July 31, 2026