Rural health care: opportunities for established group practices.
Many rural areas of the United States are considered medically underserved. At the core of this underservice is a lack of physicians. Physicians are not attracted to rural areas for a variety of personal and professional reasons. We explore the role of established group practices (EGPs) in dealing with these barriers, by using a model of small associated group practices (AGPs) created in rural communities in association with a larger EGP located elsewhere. We also describe the use of this model by the Lovelace Medical Foundation in New Mexico in creating three rural group practices and planning a fourth.
D001290:Attitude; D006123:Group Practice / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000639:trends; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D009516:New Mexico; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012423:Rural Health; D014481:United States