Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physicians

Collaborative Models for Medication-Assisted Treatment: Key Elements of Vermont's Hub-and Spoke System
Describes the collaborative effort of three health-related organizations who partnered to develop and implement a medication assisted therapy (MAT) treatment practice using the hub and spoke model. This system was supported through a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Home State Plan amendment for Vermont, a mostly rural state, to modify their current MAT services to increase access to addiction treatment, integrate health and addictions care, improve health outcomes, and promote recovery.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program (IAP)
view details
Geographic Variation in Spatial Accessibility of U.S. Healthcare Providers
Examines spatial accessibility and other factors of accessibility for key physician and non-physician groups, including primary care physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners, and chiropractors in rural and urban locations, using geospatial methods. Population data, Medicare claims, provider location, professional school location, and U.S. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) were used in the analyses.
Author(s): Keith B. Naylor, Joshua Tooto, Olga Yakusheva, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 14(4)
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
view details
Buprenorphine Prescribing by Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and Physicians After CARA 2016
Investigates the differences in buprenorphine prescribing patterns among nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs) and physicians in Medicaid following implementation of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) addressing opioid use disorder (OUD). Retail pharmacy claims from July 2017 to June 2018 were analyzed to identify prescriber type, number of patients, payer type, rural and urban differences, and Medicaid trends for FDA-approved buprenorphine drugs for the treatment of OUD.
Author(s): Rekha Varghese, Karin Johnson, Bo Feng, et al.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: IMPAQ International, LLC, Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission
view details
Rural Surgery Call Coverage: Innovative Locoregional Solutions Can Fill the Gap
Features rural locum tenens systems as possible templates to help provide call coverage for rural surgeons. Highlights a successful pilot Canadian Rural Locum Tenens Project and a collaboration with a surgical group in Ohio that helped provide surgical coverage for area rural hospitals.
Author(s): Stephen Hiscock, Michael Sarap
Citation: Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons, 104(4), 52-54
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
view details
Primary Care Physician Characteristics Associated with Low Value Care Spending
Highlights study on the relationship between low value care (LVC) and the characteristics of primary care physicians. Looks at physicians' patient panel size, specialty, and region, among other characteristics.
Author(s): Tyler W. Barreto, Yoonkyung Chung, Peter Wingrove, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 32(2), 218-225
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
view details
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2019
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses opioids, Medicare Part D, Medicare Advantage, Medicare's quality incentive program for hospitals, and payment adequacy for healthcare facilities and services.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
view details
The State of Primary Care Physician Workforce
State-level information describing the primary care physician workforce in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Features statistics including age, gender, training origin, distribution of physicians, percent of state population living in rural areas, and percent of physicians practicing in rural communities.
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Graham Center
view details
A Profile of New Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physicians: Results from the Survey of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows Who Completed Training in 2018
Presents results of a survey of 147 physicians who completed training in hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) in 2018. Covers fellows' demographics, prior medical training and experience, fellowship experience, post-training practice, and the HPM job market. Includes information on the intent to practice in rural and semi-rural locations and mean income by practice setting.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, George Washington University Health Workforce Institute
view details
Planting TREES in Rural Places: Training and Rural Health Professions Education that is Community Engaged and Sustainable
Outlines a process for academic-community engagement and decision-making for residency education. Details benefits to hospitals and local communities, and contains tools and other resources to promote exploration and consideration of the perspectives of many people and interested parties.
Author(s): Randall Longenecker, David Schmitz
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Medical Training Collaborative (formerly the RTT Collaborative)
view details
Access to Rural Maternity Care
Policy paper describing obstetric care for rural women in the U.S. Covers challenges to providing access to rural maternity care, such as healthcare quality, birth outcomes, workforce shortages, access, and financial challenges. Includes discussion on policy alternatives and considerations to address workforce issues, barriers to practicing obstetrics in rural areas, and increasing access to maternity care services.
Author(s): Britta Anderson, Adam Gingery, Maeve McClellan, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details