Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Primary care

Grantee Directory: Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Program, 2016-2019
Provides contact information and a brief overview of the 32 initiatives funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy through the Small Health Care Provider Quality Improvement Grant Program in the 2016-2019 funding cycle. The program supports rural primary care providers implementing quality improvement activities, with the goal of promoting the development of an evidence-based culture and delivery of coordinated care in the primary care setting.
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
view details
Does Your State Face Rural Area Provider Shortages?
Shares the percentage of each state's population living in a rural county, along with the following rural and urban healthcare workforce statistics: number of specialists per 100,000 population, number of primary care providers per 100,000 population, and the percent of counties that are wholly designated primary care health professional shortage areas (HPSAs).
Date: 2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Healthcare Value Hub
view details
Pregnancy Options Counseling and Abortion Referrals Among US Primary Care Physicians: Results From a National Survey
Results of a representative survey of 755 primary care physicians, related to their options counseling for unintended pregnancies. Features statistics with breakdowns including residency training area, religious affiliation, current practice type, geographic region, and rural, suburban, or urban location.
Author(s): Kelsey Holt, Elizabeth Janiak, Marie C. McCormick, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 49(7), 527-536
Date: 2017
Type: Document
view details
Family Physicians Report Considerable Interest in, but Limited Use of, Telehealth Services
Describes a study exploring whether and how 1,557 family physicians had used telehealth services in primary care situations in 2014. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural practice locations.
Author(s): Miranda A. Moore, Megan Coffman, Anuradha Jetty, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 30(3), 320-330
Date: 2017
Type: Document
view details
Rural Health Networks and Care Coordination: Health Care Innovation in Frontier Communities to Improve Patient Outcomes and Reduce Health Care Costs
Discusses the findings of a single-case, community-based participatory design study in a frontier community in northern Minnesota to determine the effectiveness of developing a community care team focused on collaboration and care coordination to improve patient outcomes and reduce emergency room use.
Author(s): Pat Conway, Heidi Favet, Laurie Hall, Jenny Uhrich, Jeanette Palcher, et al.
Citation: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 27(4A), 91–115
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
view details
Kentucky's Primary Care Workforce Shortages 2016-2025 and Recommendations for Increasing the Production of Primary Care Physicians for Kentucky
Presents data and information about the Kentucky primary care workforce, describes trainee pipelines supplying new physicians, and recommends strategies and tactics for improving this workforce. Includes statistics on various types of primary care providers in rural Kentucky, and support for the idea that rural background and rural clinical rotations are factors in primary care career choices by medical school graduates.
Author(s): Kevin A. Pearce, Carol Hustedde, Linda M. Asher, et al.
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Kentucky College of Medicine
view details
State-Level Projections of Supply and Demand for Primary Care Practitioners: 2013-2025
Presents projections for supply and demand of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in 2025, using 2013 data as baseline. Features statistics with breakdowns by provider type and state-level maps showing projected supply versus demand for each of these provider types.
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Bureau of Health Workforce, Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
view details
Facing Addiction in America: The Surgeon General's Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health
Highlights ways substance use disorder treatment in rural and urban areas can be aligned with primary care, and provides recommendations and examples of how individuals, organizations, and communities can work together to reduce and prevent substance misuse.
Date: 11/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
view details
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
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
view details
Estimate the Economic Impact of a Rural Primary Care Physician
Provides estimates of, and the methodology used to determine, the economic impact of a primary care physician on a rural community. Shows that the economic impact is greater in communities that have a local hospital, where the physician can refer patients and provide inpatient services.
Author(s): Fred C Eilrich, Gerald A. Doeksen, Cheryl F. St. Clair
Date: 10/2016
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Rural Health Works
view details