In primary care settings, social workers are increasingly helping to deliver care as part of integrated teams of professionals. However, little is known about the functions of these interprofessional teams that include social workers and the value that social workers bring to those teams. This article describes a systematic review of randomized controlled trials to…
Social workers are now doing more of their work in integrated health settings that require them to perform a variety of different roles and skills. As these settings are often more complex, the roles that social workers perform in them is not well understood. This article describes a study which utilized an online survey of…
Title VII, Section 747, of the Public Health Service Act directs funding to medical schools and residency programs to strengthen the primary care workforce in underserved communities. Previous research found that physicians who attended a Title VII funded medical school were more likely to practice in primary care, locate in underserved communities, practice in community…
Due to adjustments in health insurance and payment models, healthcare delivery systems are changing rapidly. Unfortunately, many health professionals have not been trained to properly take on these changes in delivery. This article describes strategies for how academic health centers can be utilized to retrain members of the existing health workforce to best adjust to…
Policies that support graduate medical education (GME) have goals of increasing the proportion of program graduates who remain in generalist practice and, for pediatrics, in subspecialties supported through the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Program. Policy attention has also focused on promoting practice in primary care health professional shortage areas, and in rural and micropolitan…
As one of the largest groups of clinically trained mental health providers in the United States, social workers are increasingly deployed on integrated health teams to address patients’ social determinants of health and provide behavioral health interventions. However, information about the specific content of social work practice in new models of healthcare is limited, and…
Among the many trends influencing health and health care delivery over the next decade, 3 are particularly important for North Carolina: 1) the transition to value-based care and increased focus on population health; 2) the shift of care from acute to community-based settings; and 3) addressing the vulnerability of rural health care systems. This report…
Many healthcare organizations are rethinking provider roles and responsibilities to help their workforce best serve the needs of their patients. At the same time, regulations at the state and organizational levels restrict providers scope of practice. This article discusses potential adjustments to scope of practice regulations to allow healthcare organizations to provide the best possible…
Despite a growing body of research on the evolving roles of medical assistants, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, there is currently a lack of knowledge regarding different team configurations in primary care practices. This article utilizes data from the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) examination application to explore what types…
In order for the current health workforce to meet the increasing demand brought about by the pandemic, health care delivery organizations, educators, and government leaders will need to work together to adapt regulations to expand workforce capacity. Strategies such as expanding scopes of practice, developing cross-state licensure programs, and increasing telehealth services are essential. This…
