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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Surgery

Rural Women Have a Prolonged Recovery Process after Esophagectomy
Examines esophagectomy treatment and outcomes among rural and urban women and men using 2003-2022 patient care data from a high-volume cancer center. Discusses gender-based and geographic disparities in esophageal cancer surgery recovery and care access, and highlights the need for interventions to improve care for rural women.
Author(s): Julia Schroeder, Kiran Lagisetty, William Lynch, et al.
Citation: Cancers, 16(6), 1078
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Informing the Surgical Workforce Pathway: How Rural Community Characteristics Matter
Explores meanings associated with community characteristics by rural and urban surgeons, utilizing interview data from 22 rural and 15 urban general surgeons in the Midwest. Identifies rural-urban differences in approach to physical environment, health resources, and professional/personal community roles. Discusses implications for surgeons' practice location choices and surgical workforce education and recruitment.
Author(s): Dorothy Hughes, Joshua Mammen, Tomas L Griebling, Joanna Veazey Brooks
Citation: Remote and Rural Health, 24(1), 8363
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
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September 2023 MedPAC Meeting Transcript
Transcript from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission's (MedPAC) September 2022 meeting. Covers Medicare Advantage benefits and coding, the Acute Care Hospital at Home program, and the shift of some surgical procedures from hospital outpatient departments to ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). Includes rural references and considerations throughout.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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MedPAC Comment on CMS's Proposed Rule on the Outpatient Prospective Payment System for FY 2024
Comment on the July 31, 2023, Federal Register proposed rule revising the physician fee schedule to improve Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Medicare Ambulatory Surgical Center (ACS) payments for calendar year 2024. Includes discussions on extending the use of the hospital market basket to update ASC payment rates, a proposed quality measure for emergency department visits in Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs), and more.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) Recruitment and Retention of General Surgeons in Rural Areas Support Letter
Letter from the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) regarding two pieces of legislation: 1) the Ensuring Access to General Surgery Act of 2023, which would require a report from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on "access by underserved populations to general surgeons"; and 2) the Specialty Physicians Advancing Rural Care (SPARC) Act, which would provide financial incentives to encourage more specialty clinicians, including general surgeons, to serve in rural areas. Also proposes a new general surgery scholarship and loan repayment program based on the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) model and the establishment of a rural graduate medical education (GME) program. Provides an overview of access to general surgeons in rural areas, the legislation and proposed programs, and how these programs could help meet the need for surgeons in rural areas and improve health outcomes.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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Directory of Mississippi Health Facilities
Directory of Mississippi health facilities with address, phone number, and accreditation status if applicable, current as of July 31, 2023. Includes a list of rural health facilities on pages 87-98.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Directory
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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Council on Graduate Medical Education Meeting Minutes, March 16-17, 2023
Summarizes the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) meeting held on March 16-17, 2023. Includes updates from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis. Features presentations and discussions on the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program, underrepresented in medicine (UIM) medical students and residents, general surgery in rural areas, the development of interprofessional rural health teams, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Council on Graduate Medical Education
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Texas Surgical Assistants, 2022: Trends, Distribution, and Demographics
Fact sheet describing growth trends and population-to-provider data by county and geographic designation of surgical assistants in Texas. Features statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Texas Health and Human Services
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Effect of Rurality and Travel Distance on Contralateral Prophylactic Mastectomy for Unilateral Breast Cancer
Analyzes the relationship between travel time and rurality for breast cancer patients seeking contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM). Utilizes 2007-2017 National Cancer Database data to examine demographic factors, patient rurality, surgery characteristics, and more.
Author(s): Madison M. Wahlen, Ingrid M. Lizarraga, Amanda R. Kahl, et al.
Citation: Cancer Causes & Control
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Rewards and Frustrations of Rural Surgery Practice
Discusses challenges in rural surgery practice, such as demographic trends, workforce shortages, issues with surgical training, rural hospital closures, and economic pressures. Includes a link to video featuring Michael Sarap and Alisha D. Reiss, of the American College of Surgeons.
Author(s): Michael Sarap, Alisha D. Reiss
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document, Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: American College of Surgeons
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