Primary Health Care practitioners (family physicians, pediatricians, internists, obstetricians, and dentists; along with certified nurse midwives, physician assistants, and certified registered nurse practitioners) provide the basis for access to the health care system for most people.
This fundamental role makes it especially important to continually assess and assure both a sufficient supply of primary care practitioners, and an appropriate level of access to primary care, regardless of ability to pay for services.
Act 113 of 1992 established the Primary Health Care Practitioner Program and charged the Pennsylvania Department of Health with the responsibility of developing a comprehensive program to support the supply and distribution of primary care practitioners.
Overview of Programs
The Community-Based Health Care Program was established with Act 10 of 2013. The program will work to provide funding to community-based health care clinics to:
- Expand and improve health care access and services such as preventive care, chronic care, disease management, maternal and newborn care, dental treatment, behavioral health and pharmacy services;
- Reduce unnecessary use of hospital emergency services by providing an effective alternative health care delivery system; and
- Encourage collaborative relationships among community-based health care clinics, hospitals and other health care providers.
The LRP encourages primary care practitioners (including dentists) to practice at an approved site in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA).
The program enables international medical graduates, on a J-1 Visa to apply for a waiver of the two-year home residency requirement in exchange for working in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The program enables international medical graduates, on a J-1 Visa to apply for a waiver of the two-year home residency requirement in exchange for working in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within one of the 52 counties identified by ARC.
The NIW is a process that allows foreign nationals to obtain a green card without requiring a job offer and labor certification. It’s a streamline pathway to permanent residency for individuals whose work is deemed to be in the national interest of the United States. In exchange for the waiver, they must commit to working in an underserved are for a period of five-years. If the physician has already completed time in a Conrad Physician or ARC waiver, we will count that towards the five and therefore the physician will only be required to work an additional two year moving forward.
The NHSC offers two programs in recruitment and retention of practitioners. Learn more about NHSC Students to Service Loan Repayment Program and NHSC Scholarship Program.
Health professional shortage designations are developed using Federal criteria that determine whether or not a geographic area, population group, or facility is a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), Medically Underserved Area (MUA), or Medically Underserved Population (MUP). HPSAs may be designated as having a shortage of primary medical care, dental, or mental health providers. They may be urban or rural areas; population groups; or medical or other public facilities.