Using online mapping tools for strategic health planning and policy making for the health care safety net

In a period of landmark health system reform and safety net expansion, it is essential that health planners and policy makers have access to tools and data that can assist in evaluating the geographic reach, penetration and growth of the health care safety net. The UDS Mapper was developed in response to this need for the Health Resources and Services Administration, and is freely accessible to the public. The UDS Mapper is a mapping and decision-support tool driven primarily from data within the Uniform Data System (UDS). These annually reported data from the federally-funded Community Health Centers (CHCs) have previously not been available at the local level. Users of the Mapper can see where areas are already well-served by CHCs, identify areas for the development of additional health care safety net services, and pull down data for additional analyses. To date, over 3000 people have registered for access to the Mapper for advocacy and grantwriting, but also for policy and grantmaking purposes. Users include federal funders and policy makers, organizations conducting statewide plans for safety net expansion, state and local health departments, and community planners. The UDS Mapper continues to evolve based on user input to include additional policy-relevant tools and functionality.