Washington Resources
Evaluation of Policy Options for Increasing the Availability of Primary Care Services in Rural Washington State
Analyzes policy options that the Washington state legislature has considered to address a perceived shortage of primary care physicians in rural Washington. Provides background on the rural primary care workforce within the state and projects the impacts each policy option would have through 2025. Policy options considered include: opening a new medical school at Washington State University (WSU), increasing the number of residency positions in the state, increasing loan repayment incentives to encourage rural practice, increasing Medicaid payment rates for rural physicians, and encouraging the use of alternative primary care models.
Additional links: Summary and Key Findings
Author(s): Mark W. Friedberg, Grant R. Martsolf, Chapin White, et al.
Date: 11/2016
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Analyzes policy options that the Washington state legislature has considered to address a perceived shortage of primary care physicians in rural Washington. Provides background on the rural primary care workforce within the state and projects the impacts each policy option would have through 2025. Policy options considered include: opening a new medical school at Washington State University (WSU), increasing the number of residency positions in the state, increasing loan repayment incentives to encourage rural practice, increasing Medicaid payment rates for rural physicians, and encouraging the use of alternative primary care models.
Additional links: Summary and Key Findings
Author(s): Mark W. Friedberg, Grant R. Martsolf, Chapin White, et al.
Date: 11/2016
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Working in Rural Health
A video describing the benefits of working as a healthcare provider in a rural location, including testimonials from providers working in rural Washington. Length: 4:25
Date: 07/2016
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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A video describing the benefits of working as a healthcare provider in a rural location, including testimonials from providers working in rural Washington. Length: 4:25
Date: 07/2016
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Washington State Suicide Prevention Plan
Outlines a statewide suicide prevention plan for rural and urban individuals, families, and communities in Washington based on the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Describes strategies to prevent suicide and make treatment and support services more accessible. Includes statistics on suicide rates by age, race, and rural or urban location.
Date: 01/2016
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Outlines a statewide suicide prevention plan for rural and urban individuals, families, and communities in Washington based on the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. Describes strategies to prevent suicide and make treatment and support services more accessible. Includes statistics on suicide rates by age, race, and rural or urban location.
Date: 01/2016
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Columbia Gorge Region, Oregon and Washington: 2016 RWJF Culture of Health Prize Winner
Describes how the communities within the Columbia Gorge region took a collaborative approach by developing a 15-member community advisory committee that included Medicaid recipients and Latino residents. Top concerns addressed by this committee were food, housing, jobs and transportation, along with improved access to dental and mental health, and better coordination among social services and healthcare providers. Projects included expanding the use and training of community health workers (CHWs) to assist Latino residents when navigating programs outside of healthcare and the development of a fruit and vegetable prescription program to support increased intake of healthy foods. A collective impact specialist was hired to help solve community problems through collaborative efforts, and to find grants and other sources of funding to support their projects. Columbia Gorge Region is a recipient of the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Prize.
Date: 2016
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Describes how the communities within the Columbia Gorge region took a collaborative approach by developing a 15-member community advisory committee that included Medicaid recipients and Latino residents. Top concerns addressed by this committee were food, housing, jobs and transportation, along with improved access to dental and mental health, and better coordination among social services and healthcare providers. Projects included expanding the use and training of community health workers (CHWs) to assist Latino residents when navigating programs outside of healthcare and the development of a fruit and vegetable prescription program to support increased intake of healthy foods. A collective impact specialist was hired to help solve community problems through collaborative efforts, and to find grants and other sources of funding to support their projects. Columbia Gorge Region is a recipient of the 2016 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Culture of Health Prize.
Date: 2016
Sponsoring organization: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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Travel Distance Study for Rural/Competitive Bid Area/Neither Rural nor CBA Census Tracts to Hospitals and Home Medical Equipment Suppliers: Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Measures rural populations' proximity to hospitals and home medical equipment suppliers in Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin in comparison with their urban counterparts.
Date: 12/2015
Sponsoring organization: University of Northern Iowa Geoinformatics Training, Research, Education, and Extension (GeoTREE) Center
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Measures rural populations' proximity to hospitals and home medical equipment suppliers in Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin in comparison with their urban counterparts.
Date: 12/2015
Sponsoring organization: University of Northern Iowa Geoinformatics Training, Research, Education, and Extension (GeoTREE) Center
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Statement by Julie Petersen, PMH Medical Center, before the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies
Testimony presented at a May 7, 2015 Labor-HHS Subcommittee hearing on rural health. Provides an overview of rural healthcare innovations in Washington State. Discusses challenges facing the state's Critical Access Hospitals and other small rural hospitals.
Author(s): Julie Petersen
Date: 05/2015
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Appropriations
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Testimony presented at a May 7, 2015 Labor-HHS Subcommittee hearing on rural health. Provides an overview of rural healthcare innovations in Washington State. Discusses challenges facing the state's Critical Access Hospitals and other small rural hospitals.
Author(s): Julie Petersen
Date: 05/2015
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Appropriations
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Barriers to Primary Care Physicians Prescribing Buprenorphine
Reports on a study of physicians in the State of Washington who participated in a Rural Opioid Addiction Management Project on the use of buprenorphine-naloxone in the treatment of opioid use disorders. Study determined the percentage of physicians who prescribed this treatment, the characteristics associated with the prescribing physicians, the number of patients treated, and the barriers found when integrating this treatment into their outreach practice.
Author(s): Eliza Hutchinson, Mary Catlin, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 12(2), 128-133
Date: 03/2014
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Reports on a study of physicians in the State of Washington who participated in a Rural Opioid Addiction Management Project on the use of buprenorphine-naloxone in the treatment of opioid use disorders. Study determined the percentage of physicians who prescribed this treatment, the characteristics associated with the prescribing physicians, the number of patients treated, and the barriers found when integrating this treatment into their outreach practice.
Author(s): Eliza Hutchinson, Mary Catlin, C. Holly A. Andrilla, et al.
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 12(2), 128-133
Date: 03/2014
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Evaluation of the Medicare Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Demonstration: Report to Congress
Reports on the results of a Medicare Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) demonstration project that used an enhanced clinic model in frontier areas to address the needs of seriously ill or injured patients who could not be transferred to a hospital or needed monitoring and observation for a limited period of time. Includes an overview of the demonstration and key findings from the project.
Date: 2014
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Reports on the results of a Medicare Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) demonstration project that used an enhanced clinic model in frontier areas to address the needs of seriously ill or injured patients who could not be transferred to a hospital or needed monitoring and observation for a limited period of time. Includes an overview of the demonstration and key findings from the project.
Date: 2014
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Health Workforce Assessment: Tools for Policymakers and Planners
Provides information and statistics on the rural healthcare workforce, assessments, and other factors affecting the delivery of healthcare in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Denise M. Lishner, Mark P. Doescher, C. Holly A. Andrilla
Date: 07/2013
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Provides information and statistics on the rural healthcare workforce, assessments, and other factors affecting the delivery of healthcare in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Denise M. Lishner, Mark P. Doescher, C. Holly A. Andrilla
Date: 07/2013
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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What Is Rural in the WWAMI States? Why Definitions Matter
Discusses the multiple definitions of rural. Describes the impacts of using differing definitions in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Denise M. Lishner, Mark P. Doescher, Meredith A. Fordyce
Date: 07/2013
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Discusses the multiple definitions of rural. Describes the impacts of using differing definitions in Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho.
Author(s): Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Denise M. Lishner, Mark P. Doescher, Meredith A. Fordyce
Date: 07/2013
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Additional resources are available. See a full list of Washington Resources.
Last Updated: 4/4/2025