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HPSAs and MUAs
Two Government Indicators of Need
The government’s Shortage Designation Branch of HRSA has developed specific criteria to decide whether or not a geographic area or population group qualifies as a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or Medically Underserved Area (MUA).
According to HRSA, more than 34 federal programs depend on these shortage designations in determining eligibility and funding preference, and about 20 percent of the U.S. population resides in primary medical care HPSAs.
HPSAs and MUAs are identified by census tracts. When a hospital performs a Community Need Analysis these census tracts need to be mapped using zip codes and major roads as references. These designations not only provide additional insight into the health care market but can be used to support recruiting physicians into the market without running afoul of government regulations.
In determining physician need using HPSA and MUA criteria, incorporate the following factors into the analysis:
Define a rational area for the delivery of medical services.
Determine the ratio of physicians to the population.
Look if physicians in contiguous areas are over utilized, excessively distant or inaccessible to the population being reviewed.
Adjustments should be made for transient populations such as seasonal residents, tourists, and migratory workers.
Physicians engaged in administration, research, and teaching should be eliminated.
Adjust Physician count for Interns, Residents, Foreign Medical Graduates, Semi-Retired Physicians.
Determine Insufficient Capacity by length of wait for an appointment, excessive office waiting time, emergency room volume, low utilization of health services, number of office and outpatient visits.
