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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Primary care

Implementation of Substance Use Screening in Rural Federally-Qualified Health Center Clinics Identified High Rates of Unhealthy Alcohol and Cannabis Use among Adult Primary Care Patients
Examines the feasibility of integrating electronic health record (EHR) tools into the screening of primary care patients for substance use. Discusses the process of screening 3,749 patients at 3 rural Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) via EHR-integrated methods and the potential impacts of this screening method on reducing rural primary care provider burden.
Author(s): Jennifer McNeely, Bethany McLeman, Trip Gardner, et al.
Citation: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 18, 56
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
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US Pediatric Primary Care Physician Workforce in Rural Areas, 2010 to 2020
Research letter assessing the growth and distribution of the general pediatrician and family medicine physician workforce from 2010-2020 across U.S. counties, and identifying sociodemographic characteristics of counties lacking these physicians. Features statistics with breakdowns by partly rural, entirely rural, and total counties.
Author(s): Tarun Ramesh, Hao Yu
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(9)
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
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Who's Accountable? Low-Value Care Received By Medicare Beneficiaries Outside Of Their Attributed Health Systems
Examines how much low-volume care and health system spending can be attributed to fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries aged 65-years-old and older receiving care outside of the health system between 2017-2018. Explores beneficiary and health system factors associated with receiving the thirty most common low-value services, including beneficiaries' rurality and whether the low-value services originated from primary care physicians or specialists.
Author(s): Ishani Ganguli, Maia L. Crawford, Benjamin Usadi, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 42(8), 1128-1139
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) Meeting Minutes, August 17, 2023
Summarizes the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry (ACTPCMD) meeting held August 17, 2023. Features updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce on programs to address healthcare workforce shortages and Title VII funding opportunities planned for 2024, including the Primary Care Training and Enhancement (PCTE) - Physician Assistant Rural Training in Mental and Behavioral Health and the Rural Community Program Directors programs.
Additional links: Presentations
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry
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Iowa Community Health Centers and Value-Based Care
Describes how Iowa Primary Care Association (Iowa PCA) and two sister organizations, IowaHealth+ and INConcertCare, pursued value-based care opportunities before joining the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Discusses the network's Medicaid value-based care contract; a partnership with Main Street Health to expand value-based contracting and provide more comprehensive, integrated primary care to patients with Medicare Advantage; data analytics; strategic planning and roadmaps; and next steps.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Value
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Use of Real Time Clinical Video Telehealth to Home by Primary Care Providers Within the Veterans Health Administration During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Variability Across VA Stations and with Time
Describes the extent to which Clinical Video Telehealth to Home (VT2H) was used for primary care licensed independent practitioner visits (PCLIPVs) across the Veterans Health Administration (VA) during the first 18 months of the COVID pandemic. Explores how VT2H use varied over time and by VA station characteristics, including rurality.
Author(s): Dennis H. Sullivan, Linda M. Sawyer, Bonnie D. Dawson, et al.
Citation: JAMIA Open, 6(3)
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Acceptability and Readiness to Promote Human Papillomavirus Vaccination at Ages 9–10 Years: A Feasibility Study among North Carolina Clinics
Examines the recommendation of vaccinating against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in children 9-10 years old. Analyzes feedback from providers in 2 rural North Carolina primary clinics about their perceptions regarding this recommendation.
Author(s): Nadja A. Vielot, Robyn M. Lane, Kaitlyn Loefstedt, et al.
Citation: Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 9,153
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Availability of Primary Care Safety Net Providers in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Explores the availability of primary care safety net providers - Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) - nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition in 2020. Provides data on the median distance to any FQHC by ZCTA urban-rural status and minoritized ethnic and racial group (MRG) category, as well as the median distance to an RHC by MRG ZCTA status among rural ZCTAs.
Author(s): Melinda A. Merrell, Whitney E. Zahnd, Gabriel A. Benavidez, et al.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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PREVENT Pandemics Act (P.L. 117-328, Division FF, Title II)
Provides a section-by-section overview of the Prepare for and Respond to Existing Viruses, Emerging New Threats, and Pandemics Act (PREVENT Pandemics Act), enacted as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Describes the Continuing Education Support for Health Professionals Serving in Rural and Underserved Communities Program, which supports specialty training for primary care providers, as well as other rural-relevant provisions.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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Participation in a Medicare Advanced Primary Care Model and the Delivery of High-Value Services
Examines if participation in the Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Initiative (CPC+) impacted the high-value services delivered by primary care providers. Utilizes multiple national data sets to estimate the association of CPC+ and services such as annual wellness visits (AWVs), advance care planning (ACP), flu shots, tobacco prevention counseling, and depression screening. Provides data on intervention groups and comparison groups by patient demographics as well as provider demographics, specialty, and location, including urban, large rural, small rural, and isolated rural.
Author(s): Fang He, Angela Gasdaska, Lindsay White, Yan Tang, Chris Beadles
Citation: Health Services Research, 58(6), 1266-1291
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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