Glossary
A
Active Grant – A grant whose project period end date occurs after the date of a specific report.
Ambulatory Surgical Centers – Modern health care facilities focused on providing same-day surgical care, including diagnostic and preventive procedures.
Analyzer Tools – Many federal programs provide benefits to people that live or work in areas HRSA designates as isolated or medically vulnerable. Analyzer tools help users quickly find these designated areas and determine their eligibility to apply for benefits.
Application Programming Interface (API) – Set of routines, protocols and tools that specify how software components should interact.
Area Health Resources Files (AHRF) – Data that contains information on health facilities, health professions, measures of resource scarcity, health status, economic activity, health training programs, and socioeconomic and environmental characteristics.
Awarded Grant – Funds provided by HRSA to an organizational entity or individual to carry out a project or activity.
B
Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW) – BHW was created in May 2014, by integrating HRSA workforce programs previously housed in two bureaus: Clinician Recruitment and Service and Health Professions.
C
Common Accounting Number (CAN) – Seven digit code representing several data elements associated with a financial transaction within HHS’ accounting system to facilitate tracking of HRSA dollars.
Critical Access Hospital (CAH) – Legislation enacted as part of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 which authorized states to establish a State Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program under which certain facilities participating in Medicare can become CAHs. Unlike facilities such as Medicare Dependent Hospitals and Sole Community Hospitals, CAHs represent a separate provider type with their own Medicare Conditions of Participation and payment method.
D
Data Mart – A database or collection of databases that focuses on a particular subject.
Data Refresh – Act of obtaining data from a source system to access the most current data at a given point in time and incorporate that data into an existing database. The HDW regularly posts its refresh schedule as refresh dates are subject to change.
F
Feature Service – Service that allows a user to serve features over the Internet and provide the symbology to use when displaying those features. Clients can execute queries to get features and perform edits that can be applied to the server.
Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services-certified facilities that primarily engage in providing services typically furnished in an outpatient clinic. Many, but not all, HRSA Health Center Service Delivery Sites are also FQHCs.
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Code – U. S. Government issued codes that identify the names of states and counties and other entities treated as equivalent legal and/or statistical subdivision of the 50 U.S. States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions and freely associated territories of the United States.
G
Geocode – Application of U.S. Postal standards to an address and identifying the latitude and longitude of that address so that it can be displayed on a map.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – System which integrates hardware, software, and data to manage, analyze, and display geographically referenced information.
Geoprocessing – A GIS operation used to manipulate spatial data. A typical operation takes an input dataset, performs an operation on that dataset, and returns the result of the operation as an output dataset.
Grant Abstract – A summary description provided as part of a grant application.
Grantee site (or satellite site) – Services may be provided at a grantee’s office address, or at a separate site or satellite site.
H
Health Center – Community-based and patient-directed organizations that serve populations with limited access to health care, including low-income populations, the uninsured, those with limited English proficiency, migratory and seasonal agricultural workers and their families, individuals and families experiencing homelessness, and those living in public housing.
Health Center Look-Alike – Community-based health care providers that meet the requirements of the HRSA Health Center Program, but do not receive Health Center Program funding. They provide primary care services in underserved areas on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay and operate under a governing board that includes patients.
HHS Region – HHS hosts ten Regional Offices. Regional Directors ensure the Department maintains close contact with state, local and tribal partners and addresses the needs of communities and individuals served through HHS programs and policies. HRSA data can be searched by HHS region.
Hospice – Hospices provide specialized care designed to provide comfort and support to patients and their families when a life-limiting illness no longer responds to cure-oriented treatments.
Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) – A geographic area, population group or facility designated by HRSA as having shortages of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers. A HPSA may be a geographic area such as a county or service area; represent a specific demographic, such as a low income population, or are a designated institution such as a federally qualified health center.
I
Indicator – Statistical values that taken together point to a trend.
Intermediate Care Facilities for individuals with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR) – An optional Medicaid benefit that enables states to provide comprehensive and individualized health care and rehabilitation services to individuals to promote their functional status and independence. Although it is an optional benefit, all states offer it, if only as an alternative to home and community-based services waivers for individuals at the ICF/MR level of care.
K
Key Performance Indicator (KPI) – Business metric used to evaluate factors that are critical to the success of an organization.
L
Locator Tools – HDW tools that enable users to search for health care and other HRSA-supported programs and services in a specific geographic area.
M
Map Gallery – HDW tool that provides quick access to pre-formatted versions of frequently-requested maps supplied in PDF format and regenerated nightly.
Map Service – Web-based method for end users to access geographic (map) data. The HDW provides an ArcIMS feature service, which is a specific type of map service. The feature service provides access to the spatial data in the data warehouse that originate from HRSA, as well as additional layers, such as state and county boundaries, that help establish the geographic context of HRSA-specific data.
Measure – Dimensions, quantity, or capacity as ascertained by comparison with a standard.
Medically Underserved Area/Population (MUA/P) – MUAs may be whole county or a group of contiguous counties, a group of county or civil divisions or a group of urban census tracts in which residents have a shortage of personal health services; MUPs may include groups of persons who face economic, cultural or linguistic barriers to health care
Meta Data – Describes how, when, and by whom a particular set of data was collected, and how the data is formatted.
N
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) – HRSA administrated program designed to build healthy communities by supporting qualified health care providers dedicated to working in areas of the U.S. with limited access to care.
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Approved Sites – Sites located in a HPSA that provide primary care medical, dental, or mental and behavioral health services, offer discounted fees to patients, provide services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, and accept patients covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Full Time Equivalent (FTE) – NHSC health professionals can be assigned to one or more sites. Each provider spends a certain amount of time at a site, and their involvement at a site is measured in Full Time Equivalents (FTE). An FTE is the amount of time that a provider is working at a particular site relative to a full-time schedule of 40 hours per week. If a provider is working 40 hours per week at a site then the FTE value for that provider is 1.00, and if a provider is working 20 hours per week at a site then the FTE value for that provider is 0.50. If a provider is working more than 40 hours per week at one or more sites they will still be counted as a maximum of 1.00 FTE. In these scenarios, the FTE calculation per site will be based on percentage of time spent at each site. For example, if a provider is working 30 hours at one site and 20 hours at another they will be considered 0.60 FTE at one site and 0.40 at the other. NHSC participants serve in NHSC-approved sites designated by HRSA as being in a HPSA.
National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN) – Survey published every four years by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce which provides statistics on trends over time for the nation’s largest health profession.
National Sample Survey of Nurse Practitioners (NSSNP) – A survey conducted in 2012 by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce which provides statistics on U.S. Nurse Practitioners.
Nurse Corps Loan Repayment Program – Enables dedicated registered nurses committed to caring for underserved people to serve in hospitals and clinics in some of America’s neediest communities, improving the lives of their patients and transforming their own.
Nurse Corps Scholarship Program – Enables students accepted or enrolled in a diploma, associate, baccalaureate, or graduate nursing programs, including RN to BSN, RN to MSN-NP, Direct Entry MSN-NP program to receive funding for tuition, fees and other educational costs in exchange for working at an eligible Nurse Corps site upon graduation.
Nursing Facilities – A Nursing Facility is one of many settings for long term care, including home and community-based services or other services outside of an institution, provided by Medicaid or other state agencies.
O
Organ Procurement Organization (OPO) – Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services certified organizations responsible for increasing the number of registered organ donors, and coordinating the donation process when actual donors become available within a designated service area.
Organ Procurement Organization Service Area – Each Organ Procurement Organization is structured to best serve the communities in their service area.
Organ Transplant Program – Organs available for transplantation are listed under “Programs” in the Organ Transplant Program Directory Information report which is accessible through the HDW Data Explorer.
P
Point – A precise location or site that is standardized and geocoded.
Polygon – Shape user may select to get information about the points falling within the defined area.
Q
Quick Map – Selection of predefined maps designed for on-screen viewing. The maps feature data on grants, communities in need, and HRSA-supported health care resources.
R
Rich Site Summary (RSS) – Also known as Really Simple Syndication, RSS is a standardized file format that allows information to be published once and viewed by many different programs and devices. RSS allows readers to subscribe to timely updates from favorite websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place.
Rural Health Clinics (RHC) – Federally qualified health clinic certified to receive special Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. CMS provides advantageous reimbursement as a strategy to increase rural Medicare and Medicaid patients' access to primary care services.
Ryan White Data – The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides HIV-related services for those who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources for coping with the disease. The HDW provides data on HIV/AIDS grants and health care providers.
S
Service Area – Geographic designation comprising one or more counties where a HRSA service is provided. Service areas are structured to best serve communities surrounding a health facility.
Shape File – Digital vector storage format for storing geometric location and associated attribute information. This format lacks the capacity to store topological information.
Shortage Area – HRSA designates areas with shortages of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). HRSA designates Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/Ps) as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, or a high poverty and/or high elderly population.
Skilled Nursing Facilities – A Skilled Nursing Facility is an institution (or a distinct part of an institution), certified under section 1819(a) of the Social Security Act, that is primarily engaged in providing skilled nursing care and related services to residents requiring medical, rehabilitation, or nursing care and is not primarily for the care and treatment of mental diseases. Medicaid requires Nursing Facilities to meet virtually the same requirements that Skilled Nursing Facilities participating in Medicare must meet.
Spatial Data – The data or information that identifies the geographic location of features and boundaries on Earth.
T
Tabular Data – Data presented in table (column) format.
U
Uniform Data System (UDS) – System used to review the operation and performance of health centers. Data are reported annually in the first quarter of the calendar year at the grantee, state, and national levels by the following HRSA primary care programs: Community Health Center, Migrant Health Center, Health care for the Homeless, and Public Housing Primary Care.
W
Web Service – Machine to machine service that allows web developers to connect to data and customize it on third party Web applications.
XYZ
ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) – Generalized areal representations of United States Postal Service (USPS) ZIP Code service areas created by the U. S. Census Bureau.