The Physician Pathway Act: Improving Health Care Delivery for Underserved Residents of Massachusetts

The Physician Pathway Act: Improving Health Care Delivery for Underserved Residents of Massachusetts

The Physician Pathway Act (PPA) aims to address the growing physician shortage in underserved areas across Massachusetts. In this session (recorded March 21, 2026), learn why the PPA is critical to expanding access to primary care in communities of greatest need. Gain practical ways to support the bill’s implementation and collaborate with advocates to advance legislative change that improves health care delivery statewide.

This course was a part of the Future Health: Best Practices for Advancing Care 2026 Conference. To view all sessions, click here.

Moderator

Robert P. Marlin, MD, PhD, MPH
Special Advisor for Healthcare Workforce Development, MIRA Coalition

Faculty

Michael Curry, Esq.
President and CEO, Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers



Amy Grunder, JD, MA
Director, State Government Affairs, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition



Hemant Hora, MD, FACP
Vice President, Medical Affairs, Interim Chief Medical Officer, Point32Health

Intended Audience

• Practicing physicians and physician leaders
• Senior-level health care executives
• Nurses and advanced practice providers
• Public health and government leaders
• CIOs, CMIOs, and innovation leaders in health care technology

Course Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, learners should be able to:

• Understand how the Massachusetts Physician Pathway Act (PPA) expands access to licensure for internationally trained physicians (ITPs).
• Analyze the PPA’s role in improving access to primary care in the areas of the state most in need.
• Identify how practicing physicians, healthcare advocates, payers, and state government can work together to achieve legislative change.
• Evaluate the ways in which successful legislative advocacy benefits all patients and strengthens the healthcare workforce.

Accreditation & Credit Information
Accreditation Statement  
The Massachusetts Medical Society is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement 
The Massachusetts Medical Society designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

National Commission on Certification of Physicians Assistant (NCCPA)
Physician Assistants may claim a maximum of 0.75 Category 1 credit for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.

Exam/Assessment: A score of 70% or higher is required to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  

Course Fees:
Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) Physician Member: $30.00
MMS Resident/Student Member: FREE
Non-Member Physician: $67.50
Non-Members Resident/Student: $15.00
Allied Health Professional/Other: $24.00

Activity Term:
Original Release Date: June 30, 2026
Review Date(s): N/A 
Termination Date: June 30, 2029

Format and Estimated Time to Complete:  Video recording / 45 minutes

System Requirements
Desktops/Laptops
Windows 10
Mac OSX 10.6 higher

Most modern browsers including
IE 11+
Firefox 18.0+
Chrome latest version
Safari 12+

Mobile/Tablet
iOS devices beginning with OS version 10 or higher (includes, iPhone, iPad and iTouch devices)

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Contact Us
Contact us at nejmcust@mms.org  or (800) 843-6356. Massachusetts Medical Society, 860 Winter Street, Waltham, MA 02451.