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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physicians

Bringing the Doctor to the Patients: Cardiology Outreach to Rural Areas
Analyzed 30 year cardiologist rural outreach travel data from Iowa to determine factors impacting outreach decision-making and the impact on rural access to cardiology care. Discusses cardiologist distribution, predicted impacts of reduction in workforce, and policy measures to increase access to care, particularly for the most at risk rural outreach sites.
Author(s): J. Jason Bell, Sanghak Lee, Thomas Gruca
Citation: Journal of Marketing, 88(1)
Date: 10/2023
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First-Ever Rural Physician and Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey
Recording of an October 11, 2023, webinar discussing results of a January 2023 survey of rural hospitals regarding physician and advanced-practice provider compensation. Presents results for primary care and specialty care providers by provider type, hospital system affiliation, and region. Highlights factors that influence compensation and nurse practitioner practice environments by state. Transcript available in the video description.
Additional links: Presentation Slides
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organizations: National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Medicare: Performance-Based and Geographic Adjustments to Physician Payments
Statement to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health, summarizing the Government Accountability Organization's (GAO) 2021 reports on the Quality Payment Program and the two tracks it established to incentivize Medicare providers and its 2022 report on geographic adjustments to physician payments. Includes information on the participation of providers in rural and underserved areas in Advanced Alternative Payment Models (APMs) and the challenges these providers face in transitioning to APMs.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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October 2023 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) October 2023 meeting. Covers updates to Medicare payment rates for clinician services, staffing ratios and turnover rates in nursing facilities, an alternative method to establish Medicare payments for select conditions treated in inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and a work plan relating to generic drug prices under Medicare Part D. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Demographic Characteristics and Work Experiences of Physician Scientists in the U.S.: Analysis of the 2022 National Sample Survey of Physicians (NSSP)
Compares demographics and work experience of physician scientists versus peers not engaged in research. Highlights similarities that physician scientists share with the broader physician workforce and ways in which their experiences diverge. Features demographics and statistics including population density in community of origin, with breakdowns by urban, suburban, or rural area.
Author(s): Alyssa Browne
Date: 09/2023
Sponsoring organization: Association of American Medical Colleges
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US Pediatric Primary Care Physician Workforce in Rural Areas, 2010 to 2020
Research letter assessing the growth and distribution of the general pediatrician and family medicine physician workforce from 2010-2020 across U.S. counties, and identifying sociodemographic characteristics of counties lacking these physicians. Features statistics with breakdowns by partly rural, entirely rural, and total counties.
Author(s): Tarun Ramesh, Hao Yu
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(9)
Date: 09/2023
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How Academic Medicine Serves Rural Communities Across the Country
Highlights how Association of American Medical Colleges teaching hospitals and medical schools are serving patients in rural communities. Features the work of 6 institutions in North Dakota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, George, Texas, and California, and shares the challenges and successes unique to these communities.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Association of American Medical Colleges
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An Examination of Practices and Barriers of Procedures Performed by Physicians in Rural Hawai'i
Surveys 47 rural Hawaiian physicians to evaluate their scope of practice for procedures and learn the barriers to performing procedures. Discusses specialty care, reimbursement, training, time management, resource access, and more.
Author(s): Joseph W. Turban, Eun Ah Cho, Weston McCue, Kelley Withy
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Health & Social Welfare, 82(8), 183-187
Date: 08/2023
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California Assembly Bill 2024: Report to the Legislature July 2023
Report analyzing hospital annual reports, surveys, and key informant interviews to determine the impact of California's Assembly Bill 2024 on physician recruitment and retention, discussing the benefits of employment versus contracting. Outlines how the bill addressed rural hospital-specific challenges and what challenges still remain.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: California Department of Health Care Access and Information
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Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) Recruitment and Retention of General Surgeons in Rural Areas Support Letter
Letter from the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) regarding two pieces of legislation: 1) the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2023, which would require a report from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on "access by underserved populations to general surgeons"; and 2) the Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care (SPARC) Act, which would provide financial incentives to encourage more specialty clinicians, including general surgeons, to serve in rural areas. Also proposes a new general surgery scholarship and loan repayment program based on the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) model and the establishment of a rural graduate medical education (GME) program. Provides an overview of access to general surgeons in rural areas, the legislation and proposed programs, and how these programs could help meet the need for surgeons in rural areas and improve health outcomes.
Date: 07/2023
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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