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(05/21/2025) VA researchers from Iowa City and Connecticut VAs learned the gap in follow-up pain care between rural and urban Veterans improved from 2015 to 2022. In 2015, rural Veterans were 15% less likely than urban Veterans to receive a follow-up pain clinic appointment. In 2022, this decreased by almost half to 8%, and rural and urban Veterans had similar rates of pain psychology follow-up visits. During this time period, initial pain clinic visits in VA increased by 22.5% in both urban and rural settings. The results show VA policy improvements, such as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, have led to less disparity in rural and urban pain care.   (The Journal of Rural Health, March 2025) ]