Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Andrew W. Bazemore, MD, MPH, Robert Graham Center, 1350 Connecticut Ave, NW Suite 201, Washington, DC 20036, 202-331-3360, bphillips@aafp.org

Background: The ability to combine outpatient clinical and population data through analytic mapping has been demonstrated, but its utility to clinicians and administrators has not. We evaluated the responses of primary care clinic leaders, administrators, and community board members to analytic mapping of their clinic and regional population data. Methods: Using a geographic information system, maps were generated from clinic billing records and census data identifying each clinical service areas and penetration rates in an urban primary care network. Focus groups and key informant interviews were conducted with selectively sampled administrators, clinicians, and community advisory board members, exploring their impressions of the utility, risks and relevance of analytic mapping to their clinical operations and planning. Results: Administrators and clinicians readily grasped the implications of mapping for targeting outreach efforts, planning expansion, defining their communities and populations served, and improving the financial stability of their clinics. Accurate interpretation of analytic maps required collaboration between researchers and clinic leaders, which led to an active and ongoing inquiry. Among limitations to broader implementation of our methods cited were the cost and technological expertise required. Conclusions: Analytic mapping is enthusiastically received and practically applied in the primary care setting, and is readily comprehended and adopted by clinicians and clinic leaders for innovative purposes. This is a tool of potential relevance to all primary care clinics, particularly if the hurdles of cost and technological expertise can be overcome by using web-based mapping technology.

Learning Objectives:

• 1) At the completion of the presentation, attendees will be able to describe how GIS may be used to enhance community planning functions at community health centers.
• 2) At the completion of the presentation, attendees will understand the receptiveness of primary care leaders to analytic mapping, their ability to grasp data displayed geographically, and their reported barriers to incorporating mapping into routine planning and evaluative functions at their health centers.

Keywords: Geographic Information Systems, Primary Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No