Definition

This indicator report includes physicians per 10,000 civilian population.[[br]]

Numerator

1) Number of physicians.[[br]] 2) All physicians

Denominator

Civilian population.

Data Interpretation Issues

Active physicians, professionally active: Data are presented for physicians currently engaged in patient care or other professional activity for a minimum of 20 hours per week. Physicians with unknown addresses or unknown type of practice or present employment are excluded. All physicians: Includes M.D. with active or inactive status, classified or not classified status, and employed by federal government or non-federal industry. Inactive Status includes physicians who are retired, semiretired, working part time, temporarily not in practice, or not active for other reasons and indicated they worked 20 hours or less per week. Not Classified Status includes physicians who did not provide information on their type of practice or their present employment. Federal Status is defined as full time employment by the federal government, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, Veteran's Administration, the Public Health Service and other federally funded agencies. M.D. Data are included for Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Why Is This Important?

The ratio of physicians to persons in a population is an indication of the adequacy of the health system and the access to care for persons in that population.

How Are We Doing?

In 2022/2023, the ratio of primary care physicians to population varied between the 13 local health districts (LHDs) in Utah from 74.49 per 10,000 in Summit County Health District to 3.52 in Tooele County Health District. This ratio varied among the 29 counties in Utah from 74.49 per 10,000 people in Summit County to 0 in Daggett County. It must be kept in mind that primary care physicians are classified by county, but physicians who practice in multiple locations may see patients who reside in surrounding counties.

How Do We Compare With the U.S.?

The ratio of active physicians to persons in the Utah population has been lower than the U.S. ratio for all years reported. In 2019, there were 29.9 active physicians per 10,000 population in the U.S. compared to 21.0 per 10,000 in Utah.

What Is Being Done?

he Office of Primary Care and Rural Health (PCRH) works to improve access to quality primary, behavioral, and oral healthcare in rural and underserved communities. PCRH is an office of the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and receives funding from federal grants and state appropriations. For more information, visit [https://ruralhealth.utah.gov/].

Available Services

Office of Primary Care and Rural Health[[br]] Utah Department of Health and Human Services[[br]] Multi-Agency State Office Building[[br]] 195 North 1950 West[[br]] Salt Lake City, Utah 84116[[br]] Web: [https://ruralhealth.utah.gov/][[br]] Phone: (801) 201-9462[[br]] Email: opcrh@utah.gov

Relevant Population Characteristics

The need for medical services is dependent on the age of the population. The fact that the Utah population is growing older and people are living longer will affect the need for health care services as people live longer and with one or more chronic conditions.

Health Care System Factors

The Utah Health Care Workforce Financial Assistance Program has successfully assisted in retaining health care professionals serving rural and underserved populations in Utah through providing educational loan repayment.

Health Status Outcomes

People who are unable to obtain timely primary medical care, especially if they have an existing chronic health condition, may require hospital care that could have been avoided.

The ratio of active physicians to persons in the Utah population has been lower than the U.S. ratio for all years reported.

Data Notes

Active physicians [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/report.htm][[br]] All physicians [https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-workforce/ahrf].   [[br]][[br]]Includes active doctors of medicine (MDs) and active doctors of osteopathy (DOs). Active (or professionally active) physicians are defined as those currently engaged in patient care or other professional activity for a minimum of 20 hours per week. Other professional activity includes administration, medical teaching, research, and more. **Data for 2017 is unavailable.

Data Notes

Active physicians [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/report.htm][[br]] All physicians [https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-workforce/ahrf].   [[br]][[br]]Primary care physicians include non-federal M.D.s and D.O.s under age 75 who are not hospital residents and whose major professional activity is patient care in General Practice; General Family Medicine; General Internal Medicine; or General Pediatrics.

Data Source

Area Health Resource File (AHRF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration

Data Notes

Active physicians [https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/report.htm][[br]] All physicians [https://data.hrsa.gov/topics/health-workforce/ahrf].   [[br]][[br]]Primary care physicians include non-federal M.D.s and D.O.s under age 75 who are not hospital residents and whose major professional activity is patient care in General Practice; General Family Medicine; General Internal Medicine; or General Pediatrics.

Data Source

Area Health Resource File (AHRF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration

References and community resources

Health, United States: 2020-21 [[br]][https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/report.htm] Area Health Resource Files[[br]] [https://data.hrsa.gov/data/download]