(1) The department may, subject to funding, establish community-based recruitment and retention project sites to provide financial and technical assistance to participating communities. The goal of the project is to help assure the availability of health care providers in rural and underserved urban areas of Washington state.

(2) Administrative costs necessary to implement this project shall be kept at a minimum to insure the maximum availability of funds for participants.

(3) The secretary may contract with third parties for services necessary to carry out activities to implement this chapter where this will promote economy, avoid duplication of effort, and make the best use of available expertise.

(4) The secretary may apply for, receive, and accept gifts and other payments, including property and service, from any governmental or other public or private entity or person, and may make arrangements as to the use of these receipts, including the undertaking of special studies and other projects related to the delivery of health care in rural areas.

(5) In designing and implementing the project the secretary shall coordinate and avoid duplication with similar federal programs and with the Washington rural health system project as authorized under chapter 70.175 RCW to consolidate administrative duties and reduce costs.

University of Washington primary care physician shortage plan development—1993 c 492: "(1) The University of Washington shall prepare a primary care shortage plan that accomplishes the following:

(a) Identifies specific activities that the school of medicine shall pursue to increase the number of Washington residents serving as primary care physicians in rural and medically underserved areas of the state, including establishing a goal that assures that no less than fifty percent of medical school graduates who are Washington state residents at the time of matriculation will enter into primary care residencies, to the extent possible, in Washington state by the year 2000;

(b) Assures that the school of medicine shall establish among its highest training priorities the distribution of its primary care physician graduates from the school and associated postgraduate residency programs into rural and medically underserved areas;

(c) Establishes the goal of assuring that the annual number of graduates from the family practice residency network entering rural or medically underserved practice shall be increased by forty percent over a baseline period from 1988 through 1990 by 1995;

(d) Establishes a further goal to make operational at least two additional family practice residency programs within Washington state in geographic areas identified by the plan as underserved in family practice by 1997. The geographic areas identified by the plan as being underserved by family practice physicians shall be consistent with any such similar designations as may be made in the health personnel research plan as authorized under chapter 28B.125 RCW;

(e) Establishes, with the cooperation of existing community and migrant health clinics in rural or medically underserved areas of the state, three family practice residency training tracks. Furthermore, the primary care shortage plan shall provide that one of these training tracks shall be a joint American osteopathic association and American medical association approved training site coordinated with an accredited college of osteopathic medicine with extensive experience in training primary care physicians for the western United States. Such a proposed joint accredited training track will have at least fifty percent of its residency positions in osteopathic medicine; and

(f) Implements the plan, with the exception of the expansion of the family practice residency network, within current biennial appropriations for the University of Washington school of medicine.

(2) The plan shall be submitted to the appropriate committees of the legislature no later than December 1, 1993." [ 1993 c 492 s 279.]

Finding—1993 c 492: See note following RCW 28B.115.080.

Findings—Intent—1993 c 492: See notes following RCW 43.20.050.

Short title—Savings—Reservation of legislative power—Effective dates—1993 c 492: See RCW 43.72.910 through 43.72.915.