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Health professional shortage area maps and data

Maps and data are available to help you determine whether your community is located in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).

Maps and eligibility

Federal Designations

Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA):

Eligibility for HPSA status is based on demonstration of unmet need for provider capacity. 

  • The federal scoring method takes into account population-to-provider ratios for the designation, as well as other indicators of need that are specific to the discipline of the designation. Because of the additional factors, larger HPSA scores are generally indicative of greater need, but are not valid for direct comparison of provider capacity deficiency between designations.

​In addition to these federal designations, Colorado has created an HPSA for behavioral health services under a method described in the State Board of Health Rules. The methodology for behavioral health services designation is based on:

State designations

​Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas:

  1. The estimated demand for behavioral health services for a population within a specific geographic area,
  2. The estimated supply of behavioral health services for the population within a specific geographic area, and
  3. The determination of whether supply meets demand within a service area.
  4. Areas of the state where the supply falls short of the estimated demand for minimally adequate behavioral health services will be designated substance use disorder health professional shortage areas.

Data

Searchable federal database

Find data on the geographic, population, and facility HPSA designations throughout the United States on the HPSA Find website.

Needs assessment data

Use the Federally Qualified Health Center Needs Assessment Guide to access county-level data on core health indicators and identified access barriers.