Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health occupations
Medicare Payment Basics: Physician and Other Health Professional Payment System
Overview of Medicare payments for physician services conducted in a variety of settings including physicians' offices, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute care settings, hospices, outpatient dialysis facilities, clinical laboratories, and beneficiaries' homes.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Overview of Medicare payments for physician services conducted in a variety of settings including physicians' offices, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, skilled nursing facilities and other post-acute care settings, hospices, outpatient dialysis facilities, clinical laboratories, and beneficiaries' homes.
Date: 11/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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An Assessment of Nurse Practitioner Low-Value Care Use in Primary Care
Analyzes how patient demographics and geography are associated with the prevalence of nurse practitioner-delivered low-value lumbar x-ray, aURI antibiotic, and ECG services, utilizing 2021 Merative MarketScan Commercial and Medicare database data for Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Includes metro versus nonmetro comparison data.
Author(s): Sara B. Nugent, Roberta P. Lavin, Jongwon Lee, Brady P. Horn, Barbara I. Holmes Damron
Citation: The American Journal of Managed Care, 31(1), 553-557
Date: 10/2025
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Analyzes how patient demographics and geography are associated with the prevalence of nurse practitioner-delivered low-value lumbar x-ray, aURI antibiotic, and ECG services, utilizing 2021 Merative MarketScan Commercial and Medicare database data for Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. Includes metro versus nonmetro comparison data.
Author(s): Sara B. Nugent, Roberta P. Lavin, Jongwon Lee, Brady P. Horn, Barbara I. Holmes Damron
Citation: The American Journal of Managed Care, 31(1), 553-557
Date: 10/2025
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Targeted Nursing Interventions for Improving Stroke Care and Outcomes in the Rural Setting: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Discusses opportunities and continuing challenges in the use of service delivery models and technological innovations to support accessible and high-quality nurse-delivered stroke care in rural settings. Covers topics including telemedicine, artificial intelligence, nursing workforce education, data use, and more.
Author(s): Renee Colsch, Wendy Dusenbury, Michelle Camicia, et al.
Citation: Stroke, 57(1), e45-e57
Date: 10/2025
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Discusses opportunities and continuing challenges in the use of service delivery models and technological innovations to support accessible and high-quality nurse-delivered stroke care in rural settings. Covers topics including telemedicine, artificial intelligence, nursing workforce education, data use, and more.
Author(s): Renee Colsch, Wendy Dusenbury, Michelle Camicia, et al.
Citation: Stroke, 57(1), e45-e57
Date: 10/2025
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New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee: 2025 Annual Report
Reports on New Mexico's healthcare workforce, including county-level data and comparisons to national benchmarks. Discusses rural and frontier area shortages, health workforce migration trends, potential solutions for workforce issues, and updates on previous recommendations. See Appendix C for healthcare professions gap analyses by county.
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of New Mexico - Health Sciences Center
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Reports on New Mexico's healthcare workforce, including county-level data and comparisons to national benchmarks. Discusses rural and frontier area shortages, health workforce migration trends, potential solutions for workforce issues, and updates on previous recommendations. See Appendix C for healthcare professions gap analyses by county.
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of New Mexico - Health Sciences Center
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Assessing Family Medicine Obstetrics Training Needs to Strengthen Maternal Health in Underserved and Rural US Communities
Examines the impact of the PROMOTE OB track (PRimary care Obstetrics and Maternal Outcomes Training Enhancement) to improve maternity care access from family medicine obstetricians (FMOBs) in rural and underserved areas. Examines focus group feedback from PROMOTE OB participants regarding training gaps, collaborative care, cultural components, and patient needs.
Author(s): Matthew D Kearney, Caroline S O'Brien, Melissa L Donze, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
Date: 10/2025
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Examines the impact of the PROMOTE OB track (PRimary care Obstetrics and Maternal Outcomes Training Enhancement) to improve maternity care access from family medicine obstetricians (FMOBs) in rural and underserved areas. Examines focus group feedback from PROMOTE OB participants regarding training gaps, collaborative care, cultural components, and patient needs.
Author(s): Matthew D Kearney, Caroline S O'Brien, Melissa L Donze, et al.
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health
Date: 10/2025
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Medicare Advantage Enrollees Have Access to About Half of the Physicians Available to Traditional Medicare Beneficiaries
Explores how provider networks vary across Medicare Advantage plans and when compared to traditional Medicare. Examines the share of physicians available to Medicare Advantage enrollees as a share of physicians available to traditional Medicare beneficiaries by analyzing Medicare Advantage provider directories for 2022. Includes information on the availability of physicians to Medicare Advantage enrollees and traditional Medicare beneficiaries in rural counties.
Author(s): Matthew Rae, Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Tricia Neuman, Karen Pollitz
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Explores how provider networks vary across Medicare Advantage plans and when compared to traditional Medicare. Examines the share of physicians available to Medicare Advantage enrollees as a share of physicians available to traditional Medicare beneficiaries by analyzing Medicare Advantage provider directories for 2022. Includes information on the availability of physicians to Medicare Advantage enrollees and traditional Medicare beneficiaries in rural counties.
Author(s): Matthew Rae, Jeannie Fuglesten Biniek, Tricia Neuman, Karen Pollitz
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: KFF
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Nurse-Directed Coordination of Cancer Survivorship Care in a Tribal Primary Care Clinic
Examines the feasibility of a nurse cancer care coordinator intervention focused on improving cancer care at a tribally-operated primary care clinic in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Provides data on survivorship care plans, cancer-related distress, time spent on coordination activities, and other aspects of program implementation via a trial utilizing data of 23 American Indian intervention participants.
Author(s): Amber S. Anderson-Buettner, Kathleen A. Dwyer, Zsolt J. Nagykaldi, et al.
Citation: BMC Primary Care, 26, 334
Date: 10/2025
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Examines the feasibility of a nurse cancer care coordinator intervention focused on improving cancer care at a tribally-operated primary care clinic in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Provides data on survivorship care plans, cancer-related distress, time spent on coordination activities, and other aspects of program implementation via a trial utilizing data of 23 American Indian intervention participants.
Author(s): Amber S. Anderson-Buettner, Kathleen A. Dwyer, Zsolt J. Nagykaldi, et al.
Citation: BMC Primary Care, 26, 334
Date: 10/2025
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2010-2023 County-Level Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Status
County-level dataset containing the county Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, county, state, and indicator of whether each county had hospital-based obstetrics care in years 2010-2023. Available for download as an XLS file.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Emily C. Sheffield, Kevan O'Hanlon, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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County-level dataset containing the county Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, county, state, and indicator of whether each county had hospital-based obstetrics care in years 2010-2023. Available for download as an XLS file.
Author(s): Julia D. Interrante, Emily C. Sheffield, Kevan O'Hanlon, Katy Kozhimannil
Date: 10/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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The Evolving Role of Critical Access Hospitals in Rural Physician Training
Research letter examining prevalence of Critical Access Hospital (CAH)-based training and comparing CAHs with other rural teaching hospitals to evaluate potential for expansion. Features statistics on characteristics of training programs in CAHs and other rural teaching hospitals.
Author(s): Lori Rodefeld, Mukesh Adhikari, Catherine (Kasia) Horger, John Boll, Emily M. Hawes
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 6(10), e254742
Date: 10/2025
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Research letter examining prevalence of Critical Access Hospital (CAH)-based training and comparing CAHs with other rural teaching hospitals to evaluate potential for expansion. Features statistics on characteristics of training programs in CAHs and other rural teaching hospitals.
Author(s): Lori Rodefeld, Mukesh Adhikari, Catherine (Kasia) Horger, John Boll, Emily M. Hawes
Citation: JAMA Health Forum, 6(10), e254742
Date: 10/2025
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Greater Physician Supply Associated with Lower Mortality in Rural Counties: A 23-Year County-Level Longitudinal Observational Study
Examines the relationship between increasing the primary care physician supply in rural areas and corresponding mortality rates. Provides data from a study conducted between 1992-2014 and analyzes rural versus urban trends in mortality rates and physician supply. Discusses rural healthcare practitioner workforce needs, rural versus urban healthcare disparities, and access to care.
Author(s): Nasim B. Ferdows, Cyrus Kosar, Orestis Panagiotou, Momotazur Rahman
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 62
Date: 10/2025
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Examines the relationship between increasing the primary care physician supply in rural areas and corresponding mortality rates. Provides data from a study conducted between 1992-2014 and analyzes rural versus urban trends in mortality rates and physician supply. Discusses rural healthcare practitioner workforce needs, rural versus urban healthcare disparities, and access to care.
Author(s): Nasim B. Ferdows, Cyrus Kosar, Orestis Panagiotou, Momotazur Rahman
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 62
Date: 10/2025
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