The current health care reimbursement system rewards specialists but that is changing as the nation’s health care system is being reformed. Recent legislation has increased reimbursement rates for general practitioners and preventative care services. This, combined with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’, rules governing rural health providers, makes Utah an ideal state in which doctors can get back to the basics of medicine and make a positive impact on the state’s population.

Medicare provides an extra incentive for health care providers who practice in Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). While Utah is one of the fasting growing states in population and it contains large cities like Salt Lake City and Provo, much of the state remains agricultural and sparsely settled. This provides an intimate, small town quality of life that is unequaled in the nation. There is a critical need for general practitioners in these locales and Medicare recognizes that physicians who choose to practice there face special challenges. Located at what is sometimes a considerable distance from specialty hospitals, general practitioners are rewarded for their expertise and skill at being the health care provider of first resort to their patients.

While general practitioners are not isolated from their colleagues, they still maintain telephone and internet connections to metropolitan labs, specialists, and professional associations they practice medicine directly. As one of a handful of doctors in an area, general practitioners in rural Utah are intimate with their patients. They are the main provider of care, coordinating referrals and following tailored treatment plans without much outside consultation. Preventive services and routine examinations make up much of the practice. Regular follow up appointments for chronic diseases and regular screenings to detect acutely developing conditions make up most of the schedule for a general practitioner in Utah. There are always unexpected emergencies as well.

At the front line of medicine without much support nearby, rural general practitioners maintain fully staffed clinics, often with laboratory and radiology equipment in house, as well as casting supplies, minor surgical equipment, spirometry, and orthopedic devices. Being a general practitioner means maintaining a wide array of diagnostic skills that many specialists can neglect. A clinic located in an RHC designated area must be ready not only for routine, preventative care but for unforeseen accidents. It is medicine the way it used to be practiced, when the town doctor was responsible for the entire town’s health.

Because so much of Utah is rural, people trust their general practitioner. He is a respected member of the community. The cost of living is low and the extra reimbursement percentage that Medicare provides makes for a financially rewarding career. Being an engaged and vital part of the community is also a reward.