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Overview
The Office of Rural Health & Primary Care promotes the development of community-based health care services and systems throughout Arkansas to ensure that well managed, quality health services are available to all citizens. Activities include:
- Providing consultation and technical assistance to rural communities for the purpose of developing viable health care services in their communities.
- Administering state grant programs designed to assist rural communities in maintaining local health care.
- Operating a health professional clearinghouse to assist rural and underserved areas to recruit and retain health professionals.
- Providing technical assistance and training opportunities to rural hospitals that have converted to Critical Access Hospital status.
- Coordinating federal, state and other efforts focusing on access to health care.
The Critical Access Hospital Program is part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, when Congress authorized the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. The Federal Regulations implementing this program created the Critical Access Hospital, an acute care facility that provides outpatient, emergency, and limited inpatient services, and is recognized as a provider type eligible for Medicare reimbursement.
For additional
information on CAHs click
here.
The Office of Primary Care promotes the development of community-based primary care services and systems throughout Arkansas in an effort to ensure that well-managed quality health services are available to all citizens. Efforts are directed in several areas such as community-based needs assessment, technical assistance for the development of primary care sites, recruitment and retention of primary care manpower and health professional shortage area (HPSA) / medically underserved area (MUA) designations.
For additional information on
shortage designations refer to the Health Resources and Services
Administration link http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/shortage
For designation issues in Arkansas call Randy Anderson, 501-280-4912, or email
randall.Anderson@arkansas.gov
PHYSICIAN RECRUITMENT AND
RETENTION LINK
The Office of Primary Care is engaged in placement of healthcare providers in medically underserved areas and healthcare professional shortage areas in rural Arkansas.
For connection to
the 3R Network click here.
Serving as the state liaison for the National Health Service
Corps (NHSC), health professionals are matched with requesting Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) where they can work to help repay their loans or scholarships.
Retired Physician Immunity ACT
(Click
here for Rules and Regulations -
PDF)
Act 844 of 1995 makes it possible for retired physicians to continue service to the community while maintaining immunity from civil suit. Only retired, licensed physicians and surgeons are eligible under this act. Free or low cost medical clinics must assure the clinic's mission is to provide free or low cost services; provide verification that the clinic is not receiving insurance payments for services rendered; submit a list of physicians currently providing services and their medical specialties; make a statement indicating that retired physicians delivering services in the clinic are not receiving any financial or other compensation from the clinic and are acting on a voluntary basis; provide a copy of the retired physician's medical license; and provide a copy of the clinic's policy for notifying patients that the physician rendering voluntary medical services is retired and that he/she is immune from civil suit. Accompanying the application must be a copy of the most recent financial or audit statement or an explanation for its absence. The application is effective for three years.
Volunteer Licensed Health Care Professional Immunity Act
(Click here for Rules and
Regulations -
PDF)
Act 276 of 1997 makes it possible for other non-retired health care professionals to provide services as volunteers free from civil damages. Any medical doctor, chiropractic physician, dentist, optometric physician, podiatrist, and licensed health care professional who provides voluntary service without financial reimbursement in a clinic, hospital or primary care setting is eligible for registration under this act. Free or low cost medical clinics must provide a statement indicating the mission of the clinic is to provide free or low cost services; verification that the clinic is not receiving insurance payments for services rendered; a list of all physicians and their medical specialties and health care professionals currently providing volunteer services in the clinic; a statement indicating that physicians and health care professionals delivering services in the clinic are not receiving any financial or other compensation from the clinic and are acting on a voluntary basis; a statement on file that all professional health care providers providing services in the clinic have a current professional license; and a copy of the clinic's policy for notifying patients that the physician/health care professional is rendering voluntary medical services and that he/she is immune from civil suit. This policy must be in a language understood by the patient. Accompanying the application must be a copy of the most recent financial or audit statement or an explanation for its absence.
The application for registration is effective for three years.
For more information, contact the
Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services
Division of Health
Offices
of Rural Health/Primary Care
(501) 280-4560
P O Box 1437, Slot H-22
Little Rock, AR 72203-1437
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