Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are areas, populations, and facilities that don't have enough health care providers. The Department of Health works with the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to identify HPSAs. Designation is based on provider surveys and national data. State and federal programs use HPSA designations for payment enhancements and workforce incentive programs. For more information, see What is a Shortage Designation?
HPSA designations are available for 3 disciplines of health care:
- Primary medical care
- General dental care
- Mental health care
There are 3 general types of HPSAs designations:
| Type of designation | Requirements |
| Geographic HPSA | A shortage of providers for everyone within a defined geographic area. |
| Population HPSA |
A shortage of providers for a specific group of people within a defined geographic area (e.g., people who are low-income, migrant farm workers, or who face cultural or social barriers). |
| Facility HPSA | A qualifying organization that serves a population or geographic area with a shortage of providers. See What is a facility HPSA? |
Additional Resources
- Why are HPSAs important? See Which Federal Programs Use HPSAs - HRSA
- How does the HPSA application process work? See Reviewing Shortage Designation Applications - HRSA
- How are HPSA scores determined? See Scoring Shortage Designations - HRSA
- Want to know if your location is in a shortage area? See Find Shortage Areas - HRSA.
The Health Workforce and Primary Care Systems Development team manages these designations for Washington state under the Primary Care Office Agreement with HRSA. You may learn more about the program in our Overview of Federal Health Professional Shortage Areas and Underserved Designations (PDF).
We also maintain generalized mapping of our state's designated areas. For more information, see our Data, Maps and Other Resources page.
For more information about the HPSA designations, email the Primary Care Office.
Medically Underserved Area/Populations
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/P) are geographic areas or populations that lack access to primary care services. HRSA designates MUA/Ps. These designations are required for community health centers under section 330 of the Public Health Service Act. For more information, see What is a Medically Underserved Area/Population?:
| Type of designation | Requirements |
| Medically Underserved Area | A shortage of primary care health services within geographic areas. |
| Medically Underserved Population |
A shortage of primary care health services for a specific population subset within a geographic area. These groups may face economic, cultural, or language barriers to health care. |
Additional Resources
- Which federal programs use MUA/Ps? See What Is Shortage Designation? - HRSA
- How do I request a new or update to an existing MUA/P? See Reviewing Shortage Designation Applications - HRSA
- How are MUA/P Scores calculated? See Scoring Shortage Designations - HRSA
- What to know if your location is in a MUA/P?
For information about MUA/P designations, email the Primary Care Office.