Community health centers and rural health clinics are not prepared to address the increased demand for primary care services and the larger patient loads ushered in by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study published by the University of Iowa Public Policy Center and College of Public Health.
The Public Policy Center surveyed 13 community healthcare centers and 142 rural health clinics in Iowa to draw its findings.
Results from the survey showed both community health centers and rural health clinics are not fully staffed and struggle to recruit medical professionals to fill vacant positions. Incidentally, these centers also experience challenges referring patients for specialty care, according to the study.
According to The Public Policy Center, the main concern for these health centers is that the number of insured people — due to increased enrollment from the PPACA — is increasing at a faster rate than health systems are growing, limiting the ability of the entire health system to provide adequate services to patients.
Community health centers reported difficulty recruiting mental health professionals, social workers and physicians, and cite funding constraints and trouble offering competitive salaries as primary obstacles to recruitment. Rural health clinics indicated having trouble recruiting physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, which they believe is due to the location of the facilities, inadequate pay and lack of loan forgiveness for newly licensed physicians.
Nearly 75 percent of community health centers and rural health clinics said their ability to provide family medicine services is adequate, while about two-thirds of community health centers said their ability to provide surgical services is adequate, according to the study.
The study showed that about 73 percent of community health centers and 59 percent of rural health clinics are preparing for an increase in their patient population.