Section 49-9-703 - Family practice residency programs(a) There is created the Tennessee family practice residency program for the purpose of training resident physicians in the field of family practice, and to encourage family practice physicians to settle and establish private family practices in areas of the state with physician shortages.(b)(1) The program shall be administered by the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in cooperation with the department of health and by East Tennessee State University in upper east Tennessee.(2) The University of Tennessee and East Tennessee State University may contract with other accredited medical schools in the state to provide family resident training programs that are consistent with the overall objectives of this program.(c)(1) The University of Tennessee College of Medicine and East Tennessee State University, in consultation with the appropriate officials of the department of health, will develop and implement a plan to establish family practice resident training programs in each of the grand divisions so that training opportunities for at least one hundred fifty (150) residents will be available within three (3) years, a minimum of thirty (30) residents being located in the tri-cities area.(2) The program shall make maximum feasible use of nonstate funds from the federal government, private sources, and fees for services in developing and implementing the program, consistent with the requirements for a high quality educational program that meets all of the standards for accreditation.(3) The University of Tennessee and East Tennessee State University are authorized to use any and all nonstate funds for the purposes specified in this section.(4) In developing the family resident training program, the University of Tennessee and East Tennessee State University will develop or contract for the development of training programs in a number of different locations in the state to promote, to the maximum extent possible, the better distribution of family physicians within the state.(d)(1) In connection with the purposes of this section, and to develop postgraduate medical education opportunities in primary care fields, the University of Tennessee is authorized and directed to establish a clinical medical education center at Jackson.(2) The funds necessary for the planning of the clinical center may be expended from the appropriation provided in this section.(e)(1) In addition to the resident training opportunities created by subsection (c), and subject to specific appropriation of funds by the general assembly, the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine, in cooperation with the department of health and the Tennessee higher education commission, shall administer additional resident training opportunities focusing on family medicine, general pediatrics, primary care medicine-pediatrics, and psychiatry to provide medical and behavioral health services in medically underserved areas and rural counties, distributed across all three (3) grand divisions of this state.(2) The University of Tennessee and East Tennessee State University may contract with other accredited medical schools and sponsoring institutions of residency programs approved by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to provide doctor of medicine resident training opportunities consistent with this subsection (e).(3) The resident training opportunities created under this subsection (e):(A) Must be open to all qualified candidates and filled through the existing matching process used for graduate medical education;(B) Must make maximum feasible use of non-state funds from the federal government, private sources, and fees for services in a manner that is consistent with accreditation standards when developing and implementing the additional resident training opportunities; and(C) Are not eligible for graduate medical education funds distributed by the bureau of TennCare pursuant to § 71-5-2005(d)(1)(C).Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 587, s 1, eff. 7/1/2021.Acts 1974, ch. 791, §§ 1-5; T.C.A., §§ 49-3360 -- 49-3362.