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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health occupations

MedPAC Report to the Congress: Physician Supervision Requirements in Critical Access Hospitals and Small Rural Hospitals
Provides background information on Medicare physician supervision requirements, and examines how enforcement of these requirements impacts access to care, quality of care, and staffing needs in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and small rural hospitals. Findings are based on interviews with CMS officials, hospital association representatives, and CAH administrators in several states.
Date: 12/2017
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Examination of Community Health Workers in Rural Pennsylvania
Assesses the extent to which Community Health Workers (CHWs) are used in rural Pennsylvania to address the healthcare needs of underserved people. Includes statistics on CHW salaries, caseloads, hours of paid work, health outcomes, demographic characteristics, and training and certification.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Darlene Ardary, Jennifer DellAntonio, Joyce Du Gan, et al.
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Rural Health Research Recap: Rural Behavioral Health
Summarizes key findings from the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent rural behavioral health projects. Discusses mental illness prevalence in rural areas, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among rural children, access to behavioral health services in rural communities, and rural behavioral health interventions. Provides links to each of the referenced source documents.
Author(s): Shawnda Schroeder
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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Assessing the Impact of Washington State's Oral Health Workforce on Patient Access to Care
Examines the oral health workforce and access to oral care in Washington state. Includes information on workforce demographics, rural and urban distribution of oral health providers, and difficulty recruiting dental hygienists and assistants in rural areas. Provides recommendations, policy changes, and potential solutions offered by oral health workforce interviewees.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Malaika R. Schwartz, Lisa Hager, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 11/2017
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Psychiatry Distribution in Georgia as of 2015
Reports on the characteristics of psychiatrists in Georgia for the year 2015, including supply, distribution, and demographics. Provides data on psychiatrists practicing in metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan areas, and includes a map showing counties without psychiatrists.
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
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Newly Licensed RN Retention: Hospital and Nurse Characteristics
Study of retention rates for newly licensed RNs (NLRNs) within 1 year of hire in Illinois, North Carolina, and Ohio. Analyzes retention data based on hospital characteristics including rural and urban location, hospital size, type of ownership, Magnet status, and university affiliation. Discusses implications of characteristics data and NLRN retention trends.
Author(s): Mary A. Blegen, Nancy Spector, Mary R. Lynn, Jane Barnsteiner, Beth T. Ulrich
Citation: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(10), 508-514
Date: 10/2017
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Trends in Primary Care Provision to Medicare Beneficiaries by Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, or Physician Assistants: 2008-2014
Examines trends in elderly patients receiving primary care from physicians alone, physicians with nurse practitioners (NPs) and/or physician assistants (PAs), and NPs/PAs without physicians. Considered these models for delivering primary care to Medicare patients with multiple chronic conditions and Medicare patients in rural and health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).
Author(s): Ying Xue, James S. Goodwin, Deepak Adhikari, Mukaila A. Raji, Yong-Fang Kuo
Citation: Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, 8(4), 256-263
Date: 10/2017
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A Profile of New York State Nurse Practitioners, 2017
Describes active nurse practitioners (NPs) in New York, based on information from NPs who recertified from September 2015 through December 2016. Includes map of New York Population Health Improvement Program (PHIP) regions and table with practice settings of active NPs by PHIP region, both with breakdowns by urban or rural status.
Author(s): Robert Martiniano, Shen Wang, Jean Moore
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Veterans Health Administration: Better Data and Evaluation Could Help Improve Physician Staffing, Recruitment, and Retention Strategies
Reviews the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) recruitment and retention strategies, specifically for VHA physicians working in the five areas identified as mission-critical: primary care, mental health, gastroenterology, orthopedic surgery, and emergency medicine. Presents information on how many VHA physicians provide care, the extent VHA measures physician workload and productivity, and how current recruitment and retention strategies are evaluated. Addresses rural shortages and makes recommendations for improving VHA workforce development and planning based on interviews with VHA officials and a review of VHA documentation.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2017
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Minnesota: Filling the Mental Health Pipeline
Discusses the mental health workforce in Minnesota including the educational pipeline, the licensed and unlicensed workforce, regional issues related to recruitment, and policy implications. Includes data about degrees completed, licenses gained after graduation, and population-to-provider ratios of the mental health workforce in Minnesota by rural or isolated, small town or small rural, micropolitan or large rural, and metropolitan.
Author(s): Alessia Leibert, Teri Fritsma
Date: 09/2017
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
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