north carolina health professions data system (nchpds)

The Sheps Center houses one of the most comprehensive and one of the few continuously maintained state-level data systems available to track the supply of health professionals. The NCHPDS, established in 1975, currently maintains data on 17 categories of health professionals including certified nurse midwives, chiropractors, dentists, dental hygienists, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, optometrists, pharmacists, physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, physicians (MDs & DOs), physician assistants, podiatrists, practicing psychologists, psychological associates and clinical pharmacist practitioners (newly added in 2002). For most professions, annual data are available for every year since 1979 and include name, home address, business address, birth year, sex, race, information on basic professional education (i.e., school name and state, year graduated and degree), specialty, activity status, form of employment, practice setting, total hours worked in an average week and percent time in direct patient care.

Since 1978, the NCHPDS has prepared an annual report on the supply and distribution of licensed health professions in North Carolina entitled, A Special Report on Health Care Resources in North Carolina: North Carolina Health Professions Data Book. The publication includes county, state, and regional level statistics from health professions licensing boards, as well as demographic and health-related information. The NCHPDS provides data and technical assistance to state, regional and national policy makers, researchers and educators. For example, the NCHPDS annually furnishes demographic information on residents-in-training and currently licensed physicians to the North Carolina Office of Rural Health for their HPSA review. Researchers from the NCHPDS assist health professional education programs (i.e. health professional schools and AHECs) with grant proposals and program planning by helping them quantify the impact of their health professional training programs on the state’s workforce. The System also produces topic-specific fact sheets, reports and analyses. Annual health professions data and electronic publications are available on the Internet at www.shepscenter.unc.edu/hp. These are widely used by state officials, researchers, and professionals in the health care industry as the official source of health professions statistics in NC.

To get to the North Carolina Health Professions Data System homepage, click here.