This website is being reviewed for updates. Some information is offline. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

Pandemic-Era Trends in Telehealth Use among Americans with Private Health Insurance
Brief analyzing telehealth use between 2019 and 2021 for people younger than 65 with private health insurance. Discusses the impact of COVID-19 on telehealth use. Analyzes data by various factors such as age, rurality, access, broadband availability, and more. Discusses policy implications related to broadband access, mental healthcare provider shortages, costs, access, and equity. Includes both nationwide and state-by-state rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): Beth Carter, Olivia Dean, Alex Hartzman, Luis Arzaluz, Aiden Wynia
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: AARP Public Policy Institute
view details
The Role of Medical Education in Addressing Rural Physician Shortages
Discusses medical education strategies for recruiting rural physicians. Highlights grow-your-own programs, rural track programs, service orientation, and exposing rural kids to health careers.
Author(s): A. Brianna Sheppard
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Senate Finance Committee Bipartisan Medicare GME Working Group Draft Proposal Outline and Questions for Consideration
Outlines draft policy proposals regarding the Medicare Graduate Medical Education (GME) program aimed at addressing healthcare workforce shortages. Proposals cover the distribution of Medicare GME slots to rural areas and key specialties, encouraging hospitals to train physicians in rural areas, the establishment of a Medicare GME Policy Council, GME data collection and transparency, and more. Includes questions for consideration on policies under consideration.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
view details
For the Rural Curious: Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Rural Pharmacy Practice Elective
Discusses the impact of a rural pharmacy course offered at the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy to provide students with experience related to serving rural communities struggling with provider shortages. Includes survey data on student experiences and interest in working in rural areas following graduation.
Author(s): Timothy P. Stratton
Citation: BMC Medical Education, 24, 573
Date: 05/2024
view details
Characteristics of the Current Dental Assistant and Expanded Function Dental Auxiliary Workforces in Washington State
Results of a survey of 1,240 dental assistants (DAs) and 113 expanded function dental auxiliaries (EFDAs), to describe the supply, distribution, and characteristics of DAs and EFDAs in Washington. Features demographics, a county-level map showing numbers of registered DAs with Washington addresses per 100,000 population, and statistics on residence with breakdowns by urban or rural location.
Author(s): Samantha W. Pollack, Grace A. Guenther, Benjamin A. Stubbs, et al.
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, Washington Oral Health Workforce
view details
A Closer Look at the Final Nursing Facility Rule and Which Facilities Might Meet New Staffing Requirements
Summarizes new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services's (CMS) nurse staffing requirements for nursing facilities outlined in the April 22, 2024, final rule. Analyzes Nursing Home Compare data from April 2024, which reflects nursing home staffing levels from December 2023, to explore the percentage of facilities that meet each of the new nurse staffing requirements. Presents data by nursing ownership status, rural and urban location, special focus facility status, and state.
Author(s): Priya Chidambaram, Alice Burns, Tricia Neuman, Robin Rudowitz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
Examining the Dental Care Crisis in America: How Can We Make Dental Care More Affordable and More Available?
Recording of a May 16, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on the accessibility and affordability of dental care, including in rural areas. Features testimony from the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health.
Additional links: Myechia Minter-Jordan, CareQuest Institute for Oral Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
view details
Frontier Health Care: Ensuring Veterans' Access No Matter Where They Live
Recording of a May 15, 2024, U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs hearing regarding rural veterans' access to healthcare and efforts to address challenges to care. Covers rural staffing and recruitment, limited access to broadband, distance to healthcare providers, and more. Features testimony from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health, the Great Plains Veterans Services Center, the Government Accountability Office, and Disabled American Veterans.
Additional links: Alyssa M. Hundrup, Government Accountability Office - Testimony, Chauncey Parker, Great Plains Veterans Services Center - Testimony, Jon Retzer, Disabled American Veterans - Testimony, Peter Kaboli, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate
view details
Rural Health Care: Supporting Lives and Improving Communities
Presents the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance May 16, 2024, hearing on rural healthcare. Discusses the financial vulnerability of rural hospitals, the rural healthcare workforce and graduate medical education (GME), access to maternal healthcare, health information technology and telehealth, and more. Features testimony from the Chartis Center for Rural Health; Grande Ronde Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Oregon; the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education; and the Rural Policy Research Institute.
Additional links: Jeremy P. Davis, Grande Ronde Hospital - Testimony, Keith J. Mueller, Rural Policy Research Institute - Testimony, Lori Rodefeld, Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural Graduate Medical Education - Testimony, Michael Topchik, Chartis Center for Rural Health - Testimony
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
view details
2022 Indiana Pharmacist Health Workforce Data Report
Provides an overview of the pharmacist healthcare workforce in Indiana as of 2022, with a focus on total licenses, employment status and practice location, workforce demographics, practice characteristics, and more. Includes county-level data on geographic distribution of pharmacists as well as population per pharmacist ratios.
Additional links: 2022 Indiana Pharmacist Workforce Brief, Indiana's Pharmacist Workforce: Supply and Demand
Author(s): Cleveland Dietz
Date: 05/2024
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
view details