AMA utilizes population health data in Health Workforce Mapper

The American Medical Association (AMA) has released an enhanced interactive tool that illustrates the geographic distribution of physicians and non-physician clinicians at a state or county level.

The aim of the enhancement to the Health Workforce Mapper is to distinguish possible areas of deficiency or overlap of care. Providers and policy-makers can then identify high-priority areas where workforce expansion is most needed to ensure that their patient populations have access to care. The tool provides the locations of hospitals, rural health clinics, and other healthcare facilities, as well as geographic features like highways, mountain ranges, and waterways that impact the distribution of healthcare facilities.

In addition to geographic information, the tool has a new Patient Health Explorer that provides population health data, including rates of morbidity and mortality, patient health behavior, social environment information, and healthcare access and quality data. This feature is designed to identify potential needs for certain medical specialties to help providers create effective workforce strategies to expand patient access to care.

AMA’s Health Workforce Mapper was first launched in 2014 as a collaboration with the American Academy of Family Physicians' Robert Graham Center and HealthLandscape to find physicians in each state. The tool utilized the AMA’s Masterfile data and CMS' National Plan and Provider Enumeration System.