Office of Health Policy & Planning

The mission of the VDH Office of Health Policy and Planning (OHPP) is to improve access to quality health care for all Virginians. OHPP contributes to the development of health policy in the Commonwealth with research and analysis of issues affecting the cost, quality and accessibility of health care; helps rural and medically underserved communities recruit health care professionals and improve healthcare systems; and develops and administers programs to increase and strengthen the health care workforce, thereby improving health care accessibility for Virginia residents.

During the past fiscal year OHPP developed new systems to help address medical needs throughout the Commonwealth. Among these is a comprehensive data-driven process and system for identifying emerging needs and, when possible, addressing those needs through the use of technology. Another significant activity the OHPP engaged in was the development of a first of its kind state specific health workforce study.

OHPP developed a Rational Service Area Plan for primary care. The plan identifies potential primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) using Primary Care Service Area (PCSA) analysis. This process has helped identify small areas of the Commonwealth where a shortage of primary care physicians may exist and enables the OHPP to assess HPSA designation potential.

The OHPP also integrated its existing statewide database of primary care physicians, general dentists, psychiatrists and statewide demographic and health statistics data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology. This comprehensive data system facilitates the HPSA designation process with a much higher level of accuracy and efficiency.

The primary goal of OHPP is to increase access to primary health care services in medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth. Specifically, the office quantifies the following:

• The number of entities requesting assistance or information on OHPP’s recruitment and retention products.
  
• Efforts to collaborate on telemedicine initiatives.
  
• The number of medically underserved counties, census tracts and minor civil divisions that are newly designated or re-designated as medically underserved areas or health professional shortage areas.

The medically underserved continue to face barriers to access to quality health care services. The Office of Health Policy and Planning’s programs strive to remove those barriers so that access to health care can be realized by all Virginia residents.