Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physicians
Access to OB-GYNs: Evaluating Workforce Supply and ACA Marketplace Networks
Examines the workforce supply of OB-GYNs employed in the United States and part of insurance marketplace networks. Provides interactive county-level data on number of practicing OB-GYNs per 100,000 women aged 15-64. Presents the share of counties with no OB-GYNs and the share of women living in them according to rural, small metro, or urban county classification.
Author(s): Michelle Long, Matthew Rae, Aubrey Winger, and Kaye Pestaina
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Examines the workforce supply of OB-GYNs employed in the United States and part of insurance marketplace networks. Provides interactive county-level data on number of practicing OB-GYNs per 100,000 women aged 15-64. Presents the share of counties with no OB-GYNs and the share of women living in them according to rural, small metro, or urban county classification.
Author(s): Michelle Long, Matthew Rae, Aubrey Winger, and Kaye Pestaina
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Disappearing Doctors: The Reshaping of Rural Healthcare and Its Impact on Rural Physician Recruitment
Blog post examining the shift in the number of independent physicians and practices in rural areas, and the decline in overall number of physicians practicing in these areas. Describes the rise in corporate and hospital employment and offers suggestions for recruitment strategies.
Author(s): Helen Falkner
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Jackson Physician Search
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Blog post examining the shift in the number of independent physicians and practices in rural areas, and the decline in overall number of physicians practicing in these areas. Describes the rise in corporate and hospital employment and offers suggestions for recruitment strategies.
Author(s): Helen Falkner
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Jackson Physician Search
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Tennessee Rural Primary Care Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Tennessee in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Tennessee in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Georgia Rural Primary Care Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Georgia in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Georgia in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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UAMS Regional Campuses: 2023-24 Annual Report
Reports on the 2023-2024 activities of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Regional Campuses, including discussion of health professions training, pipeline programs, recruiting, education, and more. Includes county-level data on practice location of physician graduates as well as an overview of rural programming and research.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Regional Campuses
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Reports on the 2023-2024 activities of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Regional Campuses, including discussion of health professions training, pipeline programs, recruiting, education, and more. Includes county-level data on practice location of physician graduates as well as an overview of rural programming and research.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Regional Campuses
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Washington State's Anesthesia Workforce
Provides an overview of the anesthesia care workforce in Washington State as well as a literature review related to anesthesia workforce quality and gaps. Focuses on training, career pathways, scope of practice, licensure, and employment data. Examines county-level and rural versus urban data on healthcare sites, services, and healthcare professionals providing anesthesia care. Includes workforce analyses of a variety of healthcare professionals working in anesthesia, such as nurses, oral healthcare workers, physicians, and physician assistants.
Additional links: Anesthesiologist Assistants Occupational Brief, Anesthesiologists Occupational Brief, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Occupational Brief, Dental Anesthesia Assistants Occupational Brief, Dentists Occupational Brief, Physician Assistants Occupational Brief
Author(s): Paula M. Kett, Kyla F. Woodward, Samantha W. Pollack, et al.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Provides an overview of the anesthesia care workforce in Washington State as well as a literature review related to anesthesia workforce quality and gaps. Focuses on training, career pathways, scope of practice, licensure, and employment data. Examines county-level and rural versus urban data on healthcare sites, services, and healthcare professionals providing anesthesia care. Includes workforce analyses of a variety of healthcare professionals working in anesthesia, such as nurses, oral healthcare workers, physicians, and physician assistants.
Additional links: Anesthesiologist Assistants Occupational Brief, Anesthesiologists Occupational Brief, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Occupational Brief, Dental Anesthesia Assistants Occupational Brief, Dentists Occupational Brief, Physician Assistants Occupational Brief
Author(s): Paula M. Kett, Kyla F. Woodward, Samantha W. Pollack, et al.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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The Workforce Outcomes of Physicians Completing Residency Training in North Carolina in 2017, 2018, and 2019
Analyzes the number and percent of residency and fellowship program graduates who completed training in 2017, 2018, and 2019 who were in practice in North Carolina and in rural areas 5 years after residency or fellowship graduation. Also examines the number and percent of physicians who completed residency training in North Carolina who were in practice in North Carolina 5 years after training for 7 high need specialties.
Author(s): Evan Galloway, Brianna Lombardi, Erin P. Fraher
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Analyzes the number and percent of residency and fellowship program graduates who completed training in 2017, 2018, and 2019 who were in practice in North Carolina and in rural areas 5 years after residency or fellowship graduation. Also examines the number and percent of physicians who completed residency training in North Carolina who were in practice in North Carolina 5 years after training for 7 high need specialties.
Author(s): Evan Galloway, Brianna Lombardi, Erin P. Fraher
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Evaluating Teaching Health Center Planning and Development: Unlocking and Sustaining the Full Potential of the Teaching Health Center Program
Describes Teaching Health Center Planning and Development (THCPD) program outcomes and training sites and compares characteristics of teaching health center (THC) counties to other eligible counties. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural location and counties designated as part or whole Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary care, mental health, and dental health.
Author(s): Emily M. Hawes, Mukesh Adhikari, Jacob Rains, et al.
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 17(3), 296-303
Date: 06/2025
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Describes Teaching Health Center Planning and Development (THCPD) program outcomes and training sites and compares characteristics of teaching health center (THC) counties to other eligible counties. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural location and counties designated as part or whole Health Professional Shortage Areas for primary care, mental health, and dental health.
Author(s): Emily M. Hawes, Mukesh Adhikari, Jacob Rains, et al.
Citation: Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 17(3), 296-303
Date: 06/2025
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MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare and the Health Care Delivery System, June 2025
Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Covers proposed reforms to the physician fee schedule updates and the accuracy of relative payment rates; supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage; home healthcare use among Medicare Advantage enrollees; Part D prescription drug plans for beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage; Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes; the inclusion of rural providers in current Medicare fee-for-service quality reporting programs; and recommendations related to reducing beneficiary cost sharing for outpatient services at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Evaluates Medicare payment issues and provides recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Covers proposed reforms to the physician fee schedule updates and the accuracy of relative payment rates; supplemental benefits in Medicare Advantage; home healthcare use among Medicare Advantage enrollees; Part D prescription drug plans for beneficiaries in fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage; Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes; the inclusion of rural providers in current Medicare fee-for-service quality reporting programs; and recommendations related to reducing beneficiary cost sharing for outpatient services at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Health Care Vacancies and Turnover in Kansas
Provides data and trends of the Kansas healthcare workforce, including information on vacancies and turnover, data on nursing supply, hospital financial trends, projected job openings, and primary care physician Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) by county.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Hospital Association
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Provides data and trends of the Kansas healthcare workforce, including information on vacancies and turnover, data on nursing supply, hospital financial trends, projected job openings, and primary care physician Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) by county.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Hospital Association
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