Healthcare Insights

Top 25 rural health clinics by total visits

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:

  • Location in a non-urbanized area as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau
  • Employ at least one nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant
  • Have a nurse practitioner, physician’s assistant, or nurse-midwife working at least half the time a clinic is open
  • Offer routine diagnostic services and more

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.

Top 25 rural health clinics by total visits

Clinic NameTotal VisitsTotal CostsNetworkExplore Dataset
1Unitypoint Clinic Family Medicine - Belle Plaine190,459$30,302,409 UnityPoint HealthExplore
2Hutchinson Clinic on Waldron147,419$18,768,816 Hutchinson ClinicExplore
3Quincy Medical Group - 1025 Main145,539$22,137,919 Explore
4PCA Greenville142,772$21,365,018 Baylor Scott & White HealthExplore
5Primary Care Centers of Eastern Ky - Hazard140,852$18,916,218 Explore
6Mercy Clinic Family Medicine - Lebanon134,437$15,890,147 Mercy (MO)Explore
7Beverly Hills Medical Clinic101,373$15,850,072 Explore
8Family Health Care Associates - Pineville99,889$9,298,354 Explore
9Jones Regional Medical Center Family Medicine - Anamosa91,995$16,116,483 UnityPoint Health Des MoinesExplore
10Mercy Clinic Family Medicine - St Robert91,952$10,547,358 Mercy (MO)Explore
11Evergreen Family Medicine - Main Office88,483$17,043,882 Explore
12Kneibert Clinic Llc87,870$11,472,290 Saint Francis Health SystemExplore
13Ferguson Medical Group - Charleston87,042$9,010,721 Explore
14Ferguson Medical Group - East Prairie82,069$7,673,867 Explore
15Clark Clinic - Sumter County Clinic78,590$7,096,456 Explore
16Center for Medical Arts Rural Health75,306$11,266,275 Southern Illinois HealthcareExplore
17Lynden Family Medicine73,741$12,541,529 Explore
18Logan Primary Care - Herrin70,304$5,554,217 Southern Illinois HealthcareExplore
19Hannibal Clinic - Hannibal68,086$7,900,987 Explore
20Pediatrics In Brevard - Melbourne67,520$8,665,965 Explore
21London Womens Care66,342$21,761,185 Explore
22Apex Medical Group66,060$8,296,547 Explore
23CHRISUS Trinity Clinic - Mineola65,060$7,257,164 CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Health SystemExplore
24Elm Clinic63,583$11,247,033 Saint Alphonsus Health SystemExplore
25Physicians Park Primary Care63,375$9,336,660 Explore

Fig 1. Data from Definitive Healthcare based on self-reporting and reports from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

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