Health Care Workforce Data Collection Initiative

1. Health Care Workforce Data Collection Initiative HealthCare Workforce Center Advisory Council Meeting May 13, 2009 Jean Pontikas, Director Division of Health Professions Licensure

2. Division of Health Professions Licensure • DHPL is within DPH Bureau of Health Quality and Safety • Consists of 8 boards of registration • Nursing • Pharmacy • Dentistry • Physician Assistants • Nursing Home Administrators • Respiratory Care • Genetic Counselors • Perfusionists

3. Licensed Health Professionals • Nursing • RNs (110,000) • LPNs (20,342) • Advanced Practice Nurses • Nurse Practitioners (5,713) • Nurse Midwife (453) • Nurse Anesthetist (973) • Psychiatric Nurse Specialist (978) • Dentistry • Registered Dentists (8,821) • Limited License Dentists (358) • Dental Hygienists (6,098) • Pharmacy • Pharmacists (10,410) • Pharmacy Technicians (6,898)

4. Licensed Health Professionals • Nursing Home Administrators (1,236) • Physician Assistants (1,601) • Respiratory Therapists (3,056) • Perfusionists (95) • Genetic Counselors (82)

5. Background • Collection and availability of relevant, accurate data to inform health care workforce policy development is an important initiative for the boards and DPH • Boards currently collect very little information about licensees (names, mailing address, entry-level education) • New licensing system has been implemented • Back office internal application 11/08 • Online renewals implement date 5/09 • Provides an opportunity for boards to collect relevant workforce data in conjunction with biennial online license renewal

6. Partnerships/Initiatives • DPH Office of Oral Health • Dental Hygienist Survey (2006 renewal cycle paper survey) • Registered Dentists (2008 renewal cycle paper survey) • Board Approved Nursing Education Programs • FACULTY VACANCIES AMONG BOARD-APPROVED NURSING EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN MASSACHUSETTS (Spring 2006) • DPH Health Care Workforce Center and UMassAHEC • Chapter 305 of the Acts of 2008 (primary care and other health professionals) • Department of Higher Education – Nursing (RN and APRN) Workforce Study • Goal for all states to collect same data in similar formats to inform workforce policy development on state and national levels • 34 states currently collecting one or more of the MDS data elements • Workgroup comprised of DHPL, BORN, DHE, DPH-HCWC, Center for Nursing are planning to begin collect MDS elements during next RN renewal cycle which begins Oct. 2009 • Boston Public Health Commission – Mayor’s Task Force on Improving Access to Primary Care in Boston

7. Project Vision • To establish a system for the ongoing collection of work force data from certain health care professions (e.g., nurses, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, dentists) in conjunction with biennial license renewal to ensure that accurate and relevant data is available to agencies of the Commonwealth, including the Department of Public Health, Boards of Registration, Department of Higher Education and other public and private educators, researchers, employers, and workforce planners to:

8. Purpose • Monitor trends in availability of primary care providers, including identification of regional disparities across professions (e.g., physicians, physician assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners) • Determine statewide shortage areas to target provider placement based on availability of health care professionals • Inform the design and development of effective strategies for addressing disparities in health care and ensuring the availability of a highly qualified health care workforce • Gain a better understanding of existing linguistic and cultural diversity of the health care workforce in order to identify gaps and create initiatives that promote the delivery of culturally competent care for patients in order to achieve better health care outcomes for patients and improve compliance with prescribed therapies • Establish ability to assess nursing workforce at the state and national level through collection of data which is consistent with the National Nursing Education Summit’s minimum data set • Identify workforce shortages and project ongoing needs for entry- or graduate- level health care professional education programs and faculty, and • Assess existing health care workforce capacity and make projections about the availability of health care professionals necessary to meet the needs of all residents over time.

9. Type of Data – RN Renewal Cycle • License type and advanced practice specialties • Demographics (gender, DOB, race, ethnicity, languages) • Nursing education completed and future plans • Employment (primary and secondary positions) and future plans

10. Current Status/Plans • DHPL and DHE have executed an agreement for DHPL to develop the online survey during upcoming RN renewal cycle • DPH contracted with UMassAHEC to provide survey and research expertise on the project – builds on workforce programs already underway at DPH • Computer programming is underway using DHPL’s online licensing system • Data warehouse is being established • Mechanisms and resources for collecting data from RNs who choose not to use on-line services are being discussed • Plans for IT application and system tests are being developed • Collect data from RNs and APRNs (Oct. 2009 – Dec 2010) • Begin planning for development of workforce surveys for other professions (e.g., Dentists, Physician Assistants, LPNs)