As quality incentives are further integrated into payment systems, community health centers (CHCs) will need to optimize their workforce configuration to improve quality. Given the relative efficiency of advanced practice clinicians in producing quality, further hiring of these professionals is a cost‐effective investment for CHCs. This article explores optimal workforce configurations in the production of…
Advanced practice clinicians (APCs)—nurse practitioners and physician assistants—that are in the 90th percentile of community health centers (CHCs) provide about 1,840 adjusted-visits per year; whereas APCs in the 10th percentile CHCs provide about 978 adjusted-visits per year. Several important conditions were found among high productivity CHCs, including scheduling APCs and physicians for the same number…
Children enrolled in Medicaid have more difficulty obtaining access to care than those children who are privately insured. The factors that influence dentists willingness to accept Medicaid patients are not well understood. This article describes a study that analyzed 2016 American Dental Association data on dentist practice characteristics, location, and educational background to examine what…
Community college (CC) is important for providing access to educational pathways for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, studies show that medical schools are less likely to accept qualified students who went to CC and thus may be missing opportunities to increase the diversity of their student body. This article describes a study that analyzed data…
Community colleges (CC) are an important pathway to the physician assistant (PA) profession, with 3 of 4 matriculants having a CC background. However, lower matriculation rates among similarly qualified applicants who transferred from a CC to a 4-year university compared to applicants with no CC background suggest that PA programs are missing important opportunities for…
Postgraduate residency and fellowship programs have become more common in recent years as a means of helping nurse practitioners (NPs) transition to practice. More research is needed to understand the efficacy of these programs for NPs working in primary care settings. This article describes a study that analyzed 2018 survey data to examine possible associations…
The Health Workforce Deficit Estimator is an online tool to help state and federal planners consider different strategic approaches to ensure sufficient heath workforce for COVID-19. Built off the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation demand model, the tool currently shows deficits in supply for respiratory therapists, intensivists, hospitalists, and critical care nurses in certain…
Independent freestanding emergency departments (IFEDs) have increased rapidly over the last decade, especially in Texas. This growth calls for a closer look into the implications of these new models of health care organizations. This article examines the IFED physician workforce composition and changes in emergency physician workforce supply across states and in rural Texas.ArrayArticle Arrayhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1475-6773.13587November…
Since health professionals began administering 2 FDA-authorized COVID-19 vaccines in December 2020, the rollout has encountered several challenges and failed to meet initial targets for total vaccinations provided. The current health workforce has been identified as one possible bottleneck for distributing the vaccine, prompting a general call to authorize as many health care professionals to…
In response to the drastically increased demand for health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many states adjusted their regulations to expand access to services and assist in the expansion of health workforce capacity. More research needs to be done to understand what kinds of policy changes were made and how they impacted the health…
