New Opportunities for Expanding Rural Graduate Medical Education to Improve Rural Health Outcomes

Implications of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021

Bibliographic Data

ID21613745
AuthorsE M Hawes (0000-0001-7717-4066, E.M. Hawesis associate professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and associate professor of clinical education, University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; ORCID:., corresponding author), Mark Holmes (0000-0002-6776-1301, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Mark Robert Holmes (0000-0001-9587-367X, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Erin Fraher (0000-0003-3592-8100, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Erin P Fraher (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Alyssa Zamierowski (A. Zamierowskiis assistant director for academic operations, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.), Judith Pauwels (J. Pauwelsis professor emeritus, Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, and associate director for program development, University of Washington Family Medicine Residency Network, Seattle, Washington.), Louis A Sanner (L.A. Sanneris professor emeritus, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.), Jacob Rains (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Cristen P Page (C.P. Pageis executive dean, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.)
Year2022
Volume97
Issue9
Pages1259-1263
Publication date2022-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAcademic Medicine (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1040-2446 • E-ISSN: 1938-808X
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1097/acm.0000000000004797
PMID35767355
OpenAlexW4283706050
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited7

Evidence shows that those living in rural communities experience consistently worse health outcomes than their urban and suburban counterparts. One proven strategy to address this disparity is to increase the physician supply in rural areas through graduate medical education (GME) training. However, rural hospitals have faced challenges developing training programs in these underserved areas, largely due to inadequate federal funding for rural GME. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (CAA) contains multiple provisions that seek to address disparities in Medicare funding for rural GME, including funding for an increase in rural GME positions or “slots” (Section 126), expansion of rural training opportunities (Section 127), and relief for hospitals that have very low resident payments and/or caps (Section 131). In this Invited Commentary, the authors describe historical factors that have impeded the growth of training programs in rural areas, summarize the implications of each CAA provision for rural GME, and provide guidance for institutions seeking to avail themselves of the opportunities presented by the CAA. These policy changes create new opportunities for rural hospitals and partnering urban medical centers to bolster rural GME training, and consequently the physician workforce in underserved communities

Business · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Graduate medical education · Health care · Medical education · Physician supply · Political science · Rural area · Rural health · Workforce · Global Health Workforce Issues · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine · Primary Care and Health Outcomes

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