Important Facts for Primary care providers

Definition

Primary Care Providers (PCPs) include licensed Medical Doctors (MDs), Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (DOs), Nurse Practitioners (NPs), and Physician Assistants (PAs).

Numerator

Total population

Denominator

Total number of PCPs who practice in Utah

Why Is This Important?

Population-to-provider ratios are a key metric for assessing access to healthcare. They indicate how many people are served by a single healthcare provider, higher ratios may signal limited access, longer wait times, or overburdened providers. These ratios can be used to guide the allocation of resources, funding, and workforce programs. They also allow for comparisons across regions and help highlight disparities, such as differences in access between rural and urban communities. While useful, these ratios have limitations- they do not account for whether providers work full time, the type of care they provide, or the quality and timeliness of services. Therefore, population-to-provider ratios are best interpreted alongside other indicators of healthcare access and demand.

How Are We Doing?

A lower ratio generally indicates better access to care, except when the ratio is 0, which means there are no providers in the area. For example, a county with a ratio of 0 has no providers located there. Utah's ratio (443.0) is higher- indicating worse access- than the US ratio (336.4). The following counties have better provider ratios than the state:[[br]] Daggett (100.2)[[br]] Salt Lake (313.4)[[br]] Washington (384.8) [[br]] Summit (388.3) [[br]] San Juan (439.9)[[br]] [[br]] Many rural counties, including Emery, Morgan, Uintah, Kane, Daggett, and Juab, may have limited access to PCPs, their ratios are more than twice as high as the state average. Meanwhile, urban counties like Salt Lake and Summit may be better resourced. Piute does not have any PCPs. While some counties fare better than others, there is no established benchmark indicating when there are enough providers to ensure timely access, improve quality of care, reduce waits, or meet community needs. However, one study found that adding 10 more primary care physicians per 100,000 population was associated with a 0.9-1.4% reduction in mortality from cancer, cardiovascular, and respiratory disease. This suggests that workforce supply can have measurable population health benefits. [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30776056/]

Health Program Information

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services' Health Workforce Center (HWIC) was established as the state's official entity for health workforce data analytics. Guided by the Health Workforce Advisory Council (HWAC), the HWIC collaborates with stakeholders across Utah to assess the supply, demand, distribution, and retention of healthcare providers. It also plays a key role in measuring progress toward the goal of building a diverse, well-qualified, and sustainable workforce that equitably services all Utah residents. Visit the HWIC website to explore data, reports, and a variety of useful tools and resources. [https://hwic.utah.gov/] HWAC: [https://ruralhealth.utah.gov/about-hwac/]