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HPSA Glossary

Annual ReviewStatute requires that HPSAs be reviewed annually. This is implemented by requiring updates of HPSAs more than three years old. For example, those HPSAs designated or last updated in 2001 were scheduled for review in 2005. Update requests are sent to State Primary Care Offices, Governors’ Offices and other organizations in the State. Those HPSAs for which no data is received are proposed for withdrawal (see “N” Status below).

FTENumber of full-time equivalent non-Federal primary medical care/dental/mental health providers serving the area, population group, or facility.

Metro/NonMetroCounty level Metropolitan Area Classifications are determined by Office of Management and Budget. More information is available at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Status

Undetermined - not designated; updated population or FTE count entered on date indicated
Designated - new or continued designation
Rejected - review of application shows it does not meet the criteria for designation
Proposed Withdrawal - HPSA proposed for withdrawal based on review of application
No New Data - HPSA proposed for withdrawal due to lack of new data being submitted as part of annual review
Withdrawn - HPSA withdrawn at time of Federal Register Notice (FRN) publication. No New Data and Proposed Withdrawals convert to Withdrawn when the next FRN is published. Also a HPSA that has been replaced by a new one, such as a Population Group HPSA replacing a geographic one.

 

Type

Geographic Single County - whole county designated as HPSA
Geographic Service Area - portions of a county, or portions of multiple counties, designated as a geographic HPSA
Population Groups - a population within an area that is designated as a HPSA
State Mental Hospitals - State run mental health inpatient facilities
Correctional Institutions - Federal and State prisons and youth detention facilities
Comprehensive Health Centers - entities receiving Section 330 funds to operate comprehensive health centers
FQHC Look-a-Like - Federally Qualified Health Centers certified as meeting 330 requirements but not receiving grant funds
Rural Health Clinic - certified as Rural Health Clinics by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
American Indian - Tribal Health and Urban Indian programs serving Federally Recognized tribes
Alaska Native - sites run by and/or serving the Alaska Native populations
IHS - Indian Health Service sites serving Federally Recognized tribes
Other - public or private non-profit medical facilities demonstrated to serve a designated area or population group

 

ScoreHPSA Scores are developed for use by the National Health Service Corps in determining priorities for assignment of clinicians. Scores range from 1 to 25 for primary care and mental health, 1 to 26 for dental. The higher the score, the greater the priority.
All Federally Qualified Health Centers and those Rural Health Clinics that provide access to care regardless of ability to pay receive automatic facility HPSA designation. These facilities may have a HPSA score of 0.

# ShortThe number of FTE providers needed to remove the designation [also known as the de-designation threshold].