Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA)

The Primary Care Office (PCO) collects and analyzes demographic and provider data to determine areas within Ohio that are underserved according to federal Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) criteria.  Designation as a HPSA allows Ohio communities to apply for recruitment and retention assistance through various state and federal programs, and is often utilized as a preference factor for other public and private funding opportunities.

The HPSA designation may assess the need for primary medical care, dental health or mental health providers in an area.  The PCO works in partnership with local communities for the designation of primary care HPSAs, and works collaboratively with the Ohio Department of Health, Bureau of Oral Health Services and the Ohio Department of Mental Health, Office of Clinical Best Practices for the designation of dental and mental health HPSAs. 

HPSA Requirements

• Rational service area – The area must be rational for the delivery of services.  Rational service areas may be defined as a whole county (usually rural), a neighborhood (usually urban) or a grouping of townships or census tracts that are demographically similar.
• Population-to-provider ratio - Minimum ratios vary with the discipline and type of HPSA being requested, as well as with the demographics of the area.  
• Contiguous area analysis – Services in neighboring areas must be unavailable to the HPSA based on overutilization, excessive distance or socioeconomic barriers.

Types of HPSAs

• Geographic area designations may be done for whole counties (usually rural), neighborhoods (usually urban) or groupings of townships or census tracts that are demographically similar.
• Population groups eligible for designation include low income, Medicaid eligible, homeless and migrant farmworkers within a defined geographic area.
• Facilities that may be considered for designation include public and nonprofit facilities providing primary, dental or mental health care to residents of a designated HPSA; medium and maximum security correctional facilities or youth detention centers; and state mental hospitals.  Additionally, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and FQHC Look-Alikes are considered automatic facility HPSAs.

Review Cycle

• New designations may be requested at any time.
• Current designations must be updated every four years, and may be updated more frequently if significant provider changes occur in the community.   

To see a list of currently designated HPSAs, visit http://hpsafind.hrsa.gov/. 

For further information, contact:

Ohio Department of Health

Primary Care and Rural Health Programs

246 N. High Street

Columbus, Ohio 43215

Telephone: (614) 466-7475
Fax: (614) 995-4235

E-mail: bchssd@odh.ohio.gov

Last Updated:          3/04/08
Last Reviewed:        10/22/08 

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