Primary Care Providers per 1,000 Population by County, New Mexico, 2016
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Why Is This Important?
The number in the population for every primary care provider represents the number of persons a single primary care provider is required to serve. Lower numbers represent better access to primary care. The federal government uses this metric as one of the considerations for a county to be designated a "health professional shortage area," or HPSA. The threshold for the population to provider ratio is 3,500 to 1 (3,000 to 1 if there are unusually high needs in the community). In other words, it is desirable for a county to maintain a ratio under 3,500.
Primary Care Providers per 1,000 Population by County, New Mexico, 2016
Definition
The number of primary care providers per 1,000 persons in the population. A ratio of approximately 1.7 is the current benchmark for total primary care providers per 1,000 population.
Data Sources
- New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
(http://gps.unm.edu/) - New Mexico Health Care Workforce Committee, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
How the Measure is Calculated
| Numerator: | Number of primary care providers. |
| Denominator: | Number of persons in the population. |
Data Issues
All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies website. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County and Small Area population estimates. Population estimate totals may vary due to rounding. Population estimates for previous years are occasionally revised as new information becomes available. When publishing trend data, always be sure that your rates for earlier years match current rates on NM-IBIS that have been calculated with the most up-to-date population estimates.Health Topic Pages Related to: Health Care Access - Primary Care Physicians Compared to Population Size
Community Health Resources and Links
- Healthy People 2030 Website
- The Guide to Community Preventive Services
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force
- County Health Rankings
- Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts
Medical literature can be queried at the PubMed website.