Section R9-24-204. Primary Care Area Boundaries Determination

A.      The Department shall determine the boundaries of primary care areas for the entire state. A primary care area’s boundaries shall meet the following requirements:

1.        The geographic area within the boundaries corresponds to or is larger than a census block identified for the geo- graphic area in the most recent decennial census;

2.        The boundaries are consistent with the population’s pri- mary care services utilization patterns; and

3.        The primary care utilization patterns are determined by considering:

a.         The geographic area’s:

i.         Topography,

ii.        Social and cultural relationships of the people living within the geographic area,

iii.      Political subdivision boundaries, and

iv.       Travel patterns; and

b.        Data about the type, amount, and location of primary care services used by the geographic area’s popula-

tion, obtained from local planning personnel, gov- ernment officials, health organizations, primary care providers, and residents of the geographic area.

B.       In addition to the requirements for primary care area bound- aries in subsection (A), the Department shall consider:

1.        Indian reservation boundaries, and

2.        Primary care HPSA boundaries.

C.      Without receiving a primary care area boundary change request under subsection (D), the Department may redeter- mine the boundaries of one or more primary care areas accord- ing to the requirements and considerations in subsections (A) and (B).

D.      A primary care area’s local planning personnel, government officials, health organizations, primary care providers, or resi- dents may submit to the Department a primary care area boundary change request.

1.        A person requesting a boundary change shall:

a.         Make the request in writing,

b.        Include documentation supporting the boundary change, and

c.         Submit the request by October 1 to be considered for inclusion in the next calendar year’s Arizona medi- cally underserved area designation process.

2.        The Department shall review a primary care area bound- ary change request according to the time-frames in R9- 24-205.

Historical Note

Adopted effective July 27, 1978 (Supp. 78-4). R9-24-204 recodified from R9-24-124 (Supp. 95-2). Section repealed; new Section adopted by final rulemaking at 7

A.A.R. 715, effective January 17, 2001 (Supp. 01-1). Amended by final rulemaking 12 A.A.R. 3048, effective

September 30, 2006 (Supp. 06-3).