According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), rural health clinics were established in 1977 as a method of providing healthcare access to Medicare patients in rural areas of the U.S. This includes access to physicians as well as other healthcare professionals, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, clinical psychologists, and more. Definitive Healthcare tracks over 4,600 rural health clinics, more than 4,300 of which are currently active. These facilities focus on providing both primary care as well as preventative care to Medicare patients across the rural U.S.
In order to qualify as a rural health clinic, facilities must meet specific criteria, including:
Of the rural health clinics listed below, 44 percent reported belonging to a health system. This could be advantageous, with health systems offering greater resources for clinics to provide diagnostic and other laboratory services. Health system membership could also aid in securing staffing, either through the health system itself or through negotiations with a staffing company. Interestingly, the number of visits reported by rural health clinics did not necessarily correlate to total costs. London Women’s Care ranked 21st for total number of visits, but had higher total costs than 8 of the top 10 clinics. Higher costs could be attributed to a variety of factors, including health system membership, location, patient demographics, and more.
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Clinic Name | Total Visits | Total Costs | Network | Explore This Dataset | |
1. | Unitypoint Clinic Family Medicine - Belle Plaine | 190,459 | $30,302,409 | UnityPoint Health | Explore This Profile |
2. | Hutchinson Clinic on Waldron | 147,419 | $18,768,816 | Hutchinson Clinic | Explore This Profile |
3. | Quincy Medical Group - 1025 Main | 145,539 | $22,137,919 | Explore This Profile | |
4. | PCA Greenville | 142,772 | $21,365,018 | Baylor Scott & White Health | Explore This Profile |
5. | Primary Care Centers of Eastern Ky - Hazard | 140,852 | $18,916,218 | Explore This Profile | |
6. | Mercy Clinic Family Medicine - Lebanon | 134,437 | $15,890,147 | Mercy (MO) | Explore This Profile |
7. | Beverly Hills Medical Clinic | 101,373 | $15,850,072 | Explore This Profile | |
8. | Family Health Care Associates - Pineville | 99,889 | $9,298,354 | Explore This Profile | |
9. | Jones Regional Medical Center Family Medicine - Anamosa | 91,995 | $16,116,483 | UnityPoint Health Des Moines | Explore This Profile |
10. | Mercy Clinic Family Medicine - St Robert | 91,952 | $10,547,358 | Mercy (MO) | Explore This Profile |
11. | Evergreen Family Medicine - Main Office | 88,483 | $17,043,882 | Explore This Profile | |
12. | Kneibert Clinic Llc | 87,870 | $11,472,290 | Saint Francis Health System | Explore This Profile |
13. | Ferguson Medical Group - Charleston | 87,042 | $9,010,721 | Explore This Profile | |
14. | Ferguson Medical Group - East Prairie | 82,069 | $7,673,867 | Explore This Profile | |
15. | Clark Clinic - Sumter County Clinic | 78,590 | $7,096,456 | Explore This Profile | |
16. | Center for Medical Arts Rural Health | 75,306 | $11,266,275 | Southern Illinois Healthcare | Explore This Profile |
17. | Lynden Family Medicine | 73,741 | $12,541,529 | Explore This Profile | |
18. | Logan Primary Care - Herrin | 70,304 | $5,554,217 | Southern Illinois Healthcare | Explore This Profile |
19. | Hannibal Clinic - Hannibal | 68,086 | $7,900,987 | Explore This Profile | |
20. | Pediatrics In Brevard - Melbourne | 67,520 | $8,665,965 | Explore This Profile | |
21. | London Womens Care | 66,342 | $21,761,185 | Explore This Profile | |
22. | Apex Medical Group | 66,060 | $8,296,547 | Explore This Profile | |
23. | CHRISUS Trinity Clinic - Mineola | 65,060 | $7,257,164 | CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health System | Explore This Profile |
24. | Elm Clinic | 63,583 | $11,247,033 | Saint Alphonsus Health System | Explore This Profile |
25. | Physicians Park Primary Care | 63,375 | $9,336,660 | Explore This Profile |
Fig 1. Data from Definitive Healthcare based on self-reporting and reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).