Health Professions Education: Role of Title VII/VIII Programs in Improving Access to Care Is Unclear
HEHS-94-164
Published: Jul 08, 1994. Publicly Released: Jul 08, 1994.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reported on strategies and programs to increase the number of primary care providers and improve access to care in underserved areas, focusing on whether: (1) available data show that program changes have led to greater access to health care in rural and underserved areas; and (2) evaluations show that these changes were attributable to the programs.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| To the extent that Congress chooses to use Title VII and VIII programs specifically to improve supply, distribution, and minority representation of health professionals, it needs to better ensure that the programs are structured and that funds are used for these purposes. Specifically, Congress should establish, or direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) specific national goals for Title VII and VIII programs; (2) common outcome measures and reporting requirements for each goal; (3) restrictions limiting the use of funds to activities whose results can be measured and reported against these goals; and (4) criteria for allocating funding among professions based on relative need in meeting national goals. |
Closed – Not Implemented
|
Recent actions and reports by authorizing and appropriation committees no longer reflect and interest in implementing this recommendation. |
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Topics
Data collectionHealth care personnelHealth care servicesMedical economic analysisMedical educationMinoritiesPerformance measuresProgram evaluationRural economic developmentUrban development programsAccess to health care