3701-56-04 Dental health resource shortage areas.

(A) Dental health resource shortage areas shall include the following:

(1) A geographic area, facility (including federally qualified health centers), or population group in this state that has been designated by the United States secretary of health and human services as a dental health manpower shortage area under Title III of the “Public Health Services Act,’” 58 Stat. 682 (1944), 42 U.S.C.A. 201, as amended.

(2) A geographic area, one or more facilities within a particular area or a population group within a particular area which:

(a) Has a population to dentist ratio exceeding four thousand to one and is in an appalachian county; or

(b) Has a population to dentist ratio exceeding four thousand to one and a minority population which exceeds seventy percent; or

(c) Has a low-income population (less than or equal to two hundred percent of poverty level) to medicaid provider (adjusted to full time equivalent) ratio exceeding four thousand to one; or

(d) Has insufficient capacity, such as unusually long wait time for new patient appointments (more than six weeks for routine dental services) or two-thirds of dentists do not accept new patients; or

(e) Demonstrates the population in the area experiences significant barriers to obtaining dental care; or

(f) Has previously been designated to be a dental health manpower shortage area as described in paragraph (A)(1) of this rule but upon regular re-determination by the director, no longer meets the criteria of paragraph (A)(1) of this rule.

(B) In determining whether to approve an area, facility or population as a health resource shortage area, the director shall consider:

(1) Population groups that experience special oral health problems such as low-income, medicaid, minority, migrant, homeless, nursing home residents and other population groups determined by the director to have special oral health problems;

(2) Dentist practice patterns that limit access to dental care.

(C) The director shall give priority to the dental health resource shortage areas based on the following factors, with the population to dentist ratio receiving the highest priority:

(1) Population to dentist ratio in the shortage area;

(2) Oral health status indicators of the target population in the area such as community water fluoridation and the per cent of population with incomes below the poverty level;

(3) Travel time or distance to nearest source of care outside the health resource shortage area;

(4) Presence of dental health care provider sites in the area with vacancies for dentists,

(5) Availability of an eligible candidate interested in being recruited to a particular site within an area; and

(6) The distribution of dental health care provider sites in urban and rural regions.

HISTORY: Eff. 7-8-04

Rule promulgated under: RC 119.03

Rule authorized by: RC 3702.86

Rule amplifies: RC 3702.87 and 3702.88

R.C. 119.032 review dates: 07/01/2009