LICENSED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
An important aspect of the health care system is the number of licensed health care professionals available to provide health care in the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The availability of health care professionals varies widely by county and within counties by zip code. The population sizes used here are different from the population sizes used previously.
Source: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.HTM
Source: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.HTM
Source: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.HTM
Source: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.HTM
Source: http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/dpa/coverpg.HTM
While there are sufficient health care providers in the overall area, four counties (Bastrop, Blanco, Caldwell, and Lee) in the Capital area are designated as having an acute shortage of health care personnel by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This program recognizes shortages of three professions: primary medical care M.D.s and D.O.s, and dental and mental health professionals. The Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designation is utilized for some provider incentive programs and is designed to assist facilities located within or who serve residents in a HPSA in recruiting and retaining primary care providers. The HHS considers a population to physician ratio of 3500:1 a shortage (Health Professional Resource Center, September 2000).
In 1999, the Board of Medical Examiners database indicated that there are 658 primary care physicians practicing in Travis County. This translates into a population to primary care physician ratio of 984:1. This is an extremely low ratio but still within the federal guidelines. In areas where the entire county does not qualify as a HPSA, subgroups and sub-county areas experiencing shortages of health practitioners can be designated. Subgroups or specific portions of the population can qualify based on unique access barriers. In Travis County, the Dove Springs neighborhood has two census tracks designated as HPSA, East Austin has twelve census tracts designated as HPSA, and South Austin has four census tracks designated as HPSA (Health Professional Resource Center, September 2000).
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