by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
The Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy, formerly called the Bowen Research Center, has a rich history of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health workforce data and research for the State of Indiana. These health workforce data are important to informing health workforce policy and planning efforts through the State. Although the health workforce is comprised of a myriad of health professionals, the physician workforce may be regarded as the backbone of the healthcare system, which makes collecting and disseminating timely data on the supply and distribution of Indiana’s physician workforce critical to informing any health workforce policy or planning efforts. The 2016 Indiana Physician Licensure Survey Data Report presents key information and data collected from the physician re-licensure survey administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA) during physicians’ biennial license renewal. As of 2015, 26,536 physicians were licensed to practice in the State of Indiana. Of these, 10,057 physicians reported having an Indiana practice address. The majority of Indiana physicians reported having only one practice location in the state. Consistent with national trends, Indiana’s physicians are concentrated in populous, urban areas. In addition to understanding the geographic distribution of this workforce, practice characteristics are critical to determining capacity at the community level. A total of 6,285 (62%) physicians reported working 37 hours or more per week in direct patient care. Furthermore, roughly 52% of the physician workforce reported not offering a sliding fee scale. Also, 8.5% of Indiana physicians reported not accepting Medicaid. This report details important demographic and practice characteristics for the physician workforce. The report also examines these data for the primary care physician workforce and the psychiatric workforce. The 2015 Indiana Physician Licensure Survey Data Report presents a snapshot of data on the physician workforce in order to provide stakeholders with information needed to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for Indiana residents through policy making, workforce development, and resource allocation.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
The mission of the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy is to improve population health by contributing to informed health workforce policy through data management, community engagement, and original research. The Bowen Center has a rich history of collecting, analyzing, and disseminating health workforce data and research for the State of Indiana. These health workforce data are important to informing health workforce policy and planning efforts throughout Indiana. The nursing workforce represents the largest segment of the health workforce and works in a variety of settings to fulfill direct patient care, coordination of care, administrative and research roles.1 In fact, in 2015 Indiana had nearly 104,000 registered nurses (RNs) renew their professional license. Furthermore, as the number of medical students choosing to specialize in primary care decreases, the number of advanced practice nurses (APNs) has more than doubled over the past 20 years.2 Understanding the supply and distribution of the RN and APN workforce is critical to understand their capacity to meet healthcare needs and improve population health. The data presented in this report provides a snapshot of key demographic and practice characteristics for the RN workforce.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Identifying supply and distribution of the professional oral health workforce is crucial in understanding the capacity to meet oral health needs and improve overall population health of Indiana citizens. Data presented in this report provide a snapshot of key demographic and practice characteristics for the oral health workforce. The 2016 Indiana Oral Health Licensure Survey Data Report presents key information derived from data collected from the dentist and dental hygienist re-licensure survey administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA) during the license renewal period. In 2016 3,862 dentists and 4,946 dental hygienists renewed their professional licenses. Of these, 2,259 dentists and 3,231 dental hygienists reported having an Indiana practice address and were included in this report. Marion County encompasses the largest reported oral health workforce full-time equivalents (FTEs): 229.3 FTE for dentists and 309.8 FTE for dental hygienists. Based on the samples in this report, the greatest need for oral health professionals is in rural, less populous counties; 12 counties (Brown, Crawford, Martin, Newton, Ohio, Pike, Randolph, Pulaski, Switzerland, Starke, Union, Warren) reported 1.0 FTE or less for dentists in general practice or dental hygienists. A great need exists for pediatric dentistry since 81 counties had 0.0 FTE for pediatric dentists. Access to oral health care services is compounded by the low proportion of dentists who accept Medicaid (49.0%) and the fact that over three-quarters (79.6%) do not offer a sliding-fee scale. This report details important demographic and practice characteristics for the oral health workforce and examines these data specifically for dentists and dental hygienists. The 2016 Indiana Oral Health Licensure Survey Data Report presents a snapshot of data on the dentist and dental hygienist professions to provide stakeholders with information needed to improve the quality and accessibility of oral health care for Indiana residents through policymaking, workforce development, and resource allocation.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Based on their extensive training, physicians are positioned as leaders within the health system. Therefore, information on the supply and distribution of Indiana’s physician workforce is critical to informing any health workforce policy or planning efforts. This fact sheet presents key information on Indiana’s physician workforce, including excerpts on primary care physicians and psychiatrists.
by Guest Author | Jul 10, 2019
Identifying supply and distribution of the Physician Assistant (PA) workforce is crucial in understanding the capacity to meet health needs and improve overall population health of Indiana citizens. Data presented in this report provide a snapshot of key demographic and practice characteristics for Indiana’s PA workforce. The 2016 Indiana Physician Assistant Data Report presents information derived from data collected from the PA re-licensure survey administered by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (IPLA) during the biennial license renewal period. In 2016 1,346 PAs renewed their professional licenses. Of these, 806 reported having a verified Indiana practice address and are included in this report. The greatest number of PAs report practicing in Marion County and Allen County yet over one-third of Indiana counties (37.0%) do not have any reported PA full-time equivalents (FTE). As with other health workforce professions, the greatest need for PAs exists in rural, less populous counties; over three-quarters (79.4%) of those counties absent PA professionals are designated as rural. This report details important demographic and practice characteristics for the PA workforce, examining these data specifically in relation to PA supply and distribution. The 2016 Indiana Physician Assistant Data Report provides stakeholders with information needed to improve the quality of and accessibility to primary care for Indiana residents through policymaking, workforce development and resource allocation.
