Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Physicians
MedPAC Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy, 2025
Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Annual review of Medicare payment policies, with recommendations to Congress. Includes discussion on Medicare payment policies directly affecting rural providers and beneficiaries. Addresses payment adequacy for Medicare fee-for-service payment systems, Medicare Advantage (MA), and Medicare Part D.
Date: 03/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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AHRQ Summit to Address Emergency Department Boarding: Technical Report
Report from an October 2024 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) summit to discuss emergency department boarding. Examines some of emergency physicians' biggest concerns and highlights possible solutions to address boarding head-on, including enhancing measurement and standards, re-aligning hospital incentives, and increasing support to empower emergency physicians to do their jobs effectively. Includes sections on rural patients and rural areas.
Author(s): Robin M. Weinick, Sean Bruna, Rachael M. Boicourt, Sean S. Michael, Laura L. Sessums
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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Report from an October 2024 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) summit to discuss emergency department boarding. Examines some of emergency physicians' biggest concerns and highlights possible solutions to address boarding head-on, including enhancing measurement and standards, re-aligning hospital incentives, and increasing support to empower emergency physicians to do their jobs effectively. Includes sections on rural patients and rural areas.
Author(s): Robin M. Weinick, Sean Bruna, Rachael M. Boicourt, Sean S. Michael, Laura L. Sessums
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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North Dakota Healthcare Dashboard
Provides an overview of the current health workforce and demographic distribution throughout the state of North Dakota. Presents data in the form of graphs and maps. Allows users to select for rural, metropolitan, and micropolitan areas.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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Provides an overview of the current health workforce and demographic distribution throughout the state of North Dakota. Presents data in the form of graphs and maps. Allows users to select for rural, metropolitan, and micropolitan areas.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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Eighth Biennial Report 2025: Health Issues for the State of North Dakota
Updates the previous seven editions of this report with a comprehensive examination of healthcare workforce licensure data related to number of licensed professionals, locations, specialties, and demographics in rural and urban North Dakota. Includes three new chapters on indigenous health, women's and children's health, and the community impacts of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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Updates the previous seven editions of this report with a comprehensive examination of healthcare workforce licensure data related to number of licensed professionals, locations, specialties, and demographics in rural and urban North Dakota. Includes three new chapters on indigenous health, women's and children's health, and the community impacts of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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January 2025 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2025 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, outpatient dialysis services, and hospice services. Discusses status reports on Medicare Part D, ambulatory surgical centers, and the Medicare Advantage program, as well as policy options for modifying the cost-sharing liability for beneficiaries who receive care at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Reducing Beneficiary Cost-sharing for Outpatient Services at Critical Access Hospitals
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) January 2025 meeting. Covers payment adequacy and updates for physician and other health professional services, hospital inpatient and outpatient services, skilled nursing facility services, home health agency services, inpatient rehabilitation facility services, outpatient dialysis services, and hospice services. Discusses status reports on Medicare Part D, ambulatory surgical centers, and the Medicare Advantage program, as well as policy options for modifying the cost-sharing liability for beneficiaries who receive care at Critical Access Hospitals. Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Additional links: Reducing Beneficiary Cost-sharing for Outpatient Services at Critical Access Hospitals
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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A Discrete Choice Experiment with Health Professions Trainees to Improve the Urban-Rural Health Care Access Disparity in Appalachia: Study Protocol
A study protocol that examines strategies and policies for successful recruitment of healthcare professionals in rural Appalachia. Discusses utilization of the discrete choice experiment methodology (DCE) to analyze medical residents and fellows, physician assistant (PA) students, and nurse practitioner (NP) students and their location choice for employment.
Author(s): Chris Gillette, Jan Ostermann, Sarah Garvick, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(1), e0316521
Date: 01/2025
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A study protocol that examines strategies and policies for successful recruitment of healthcare professionals in rural Appalachia. Discusses utilization of the discrete choice experiment methodology (DCE) to analyze medical residents and fellows, physician assistant (PA) students, and nurse practitioner (NP) students and their location choice for employment.
Author(s): Chris Gillette, Jan Ostermann, Sarah Garvick, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(1), e0316521
Date: 01/2025
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Assessing the Feasibility of Creating a National Behavioral Health Workforce Database
Results of a project to determine the feasibility of developing a database of behavioral health providers and practices that offers up-to-date information to support research, policymaking, and public access. Identifies key elements, including demographics, licensure, education, and practice details. Includes information on databases focused on rural health.
Author(s): Frances Jiménez, Nicole Gauthreaux, Courtney Segal, et al.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Results of a project to determine the feasibility of developing a database of behavioral health providers and practices that offers up-to-date information to support research, policymaking, and public access. Identifies key elements, including demographics, licensure, education, and practice details. Includes information on databases focused on rural health.
Author(s): Frances Jiménez, Nicole Gauthreaux, Courtney Segal, et al.
Date: 01/2025
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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Idaho Hispanic Statewide Healthcare Plan
Identifies themes from 400 focus group participants at the July 2024 Idaho Hispanic/American Indian Healthcare Conference regarding accessibility to healthcare, healthcare workforce, and community engagement. Offers recommendations to policymakers, community organizations, and the healthcare industry. Includes county-level data for distribution of the Hispanic population, Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment rate changes, primary care physician distribution, uninsured rates, and poverty rates.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs
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Identifies themes from 400 focus group participants at the July 2024 Idaho Hispanic/American Indian Healthcare Conference regarding accessibility to healthcare, healthcare workforce, and community engagement. Offers recommendations to policymakers, community organizations, and the healthcare industry. Includes county-level data for distribution of the Hispanic population, Medicaid and Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollment rate changes, primary care physician distribution, uninsured rates, and poverty rates.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organization: Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs
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Trends in and Factors Associated with Family Physician-Performed Screening Colonoscopies in the United States: 2016-2021
Examines factors and trends related to family physician (FP)-performed colonoscopy screenings. Analyzes 2016-2021 insurance claims data from 2,943,900 qualified colonoscopies, with data breakdowns according to patient demographics, accrued charges, region, and urban-rural classification, including large central metro, large fringe metro, medium metro, small metro, micropolitan, and noncore. Discusses the impact of FP-performed colonoscopy screenings for certain populations, including rural.
Author(s): Nicholas Edwardson, David van der Goes, V. Shane Pankratz, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1)
Date: 2025
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Examines factors and trends related to family physician (FP)-performed colonoscopy screenings. Analyzes 2016-2021 insurance claims data from 2,943,900 qualified colonoscopies, with data breakdowns according to patient demographics, accrued charges, region, and urban-rural classification, including large central metro, large fringe metro, medium metro, small metro, micropolitan, and noncore. Discusses the impact of FP-performed colonoscopy screenings for certain populations, including rural.
Author(s): Nicholas Edwardson, David van der Goes, V. Shane Pankratz, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1)
Date: 2025
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Physician Engagement in Addressing Health-Related Social Needs and Burnout
Results of a 2022 study exploring physicians' engagement in addressing health-related social needs and its association with burnout. Supplementary material features statistics including geographic location with breakdowns by greater or less than 20% rural patient care.
Additional links: Supplementary Content
Author(s): Masami Tabata-Kelly, Xiaochu Hu, Michael J. Dill, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2452152
Date: 12/2024
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Results of a 2022 study exploring physicians' engagement in addressing health-related social needs and its association with burnout. Supplementary material features statistics including geographic location with breakdowns by greater or less than 20% rural patient care.
Additional links: Supplementary Content
Author(s): Masami Tabata-Kelly, Xiaochu Hu, Michael J. Dill, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(12), e2452152
Date: 12/2024
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