Section 144-504-1 - DefinitionsThe following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
a. Family/General Practitioner (for the purposes of determining eligibility for forgiveness) - a licensed physician whose practice assumes continuing responsibility for supervising the health and coordinating the care of all family members, regardless of age. This practitioner generally provides the basic medical services given when a patient first seeks assistance from the medical care system and provides for care of the simpler and more common illnesses. The provider of these services usually also assumes ongoing responsibility for the patient in both health maintenance and therapy of illness. These services are comprehensive in the sense that the provider takes responsibility for the coordination of the care of the patient's health problems, be they biological, behavioral or social. The appropriate use of consultants and community resources is an important part of an effective family/general medical practice. Such work demands specific skills including functioning as a medical manager, advocate, educator and counselor for the patient.b. Pediatric Practitioner (for the purposes of determining eligibility for forgiveness) - a licensed physician whose practice assumes responsibility for providing continuing medical care dealing with the development of infants, children, and adolescents, and with the treatment of their diseases, along with counseling and prevention.c. Primary Care Physicians (for the purpose of determining underserved areas) - are active doctors or medicine (MD) and doctors of osteopathy (D.O.) who spend at least 60 percent of their active practice time engaged in direct patient care in the medical fields of general or family practice, pediatrics, internal medicine, or obstetrics and gynecology. These fields of medicine are defined through use of the American Medical Association Specialty and Osteopathic Physician Practice Area classification as reported in the Bureau of Health Planning and Development's Cooperative Health Manpower Resources Inventories. For this purpose, no distinction shall be made between civilian physicians and National Health Service Corps physicians and other federal physicians (except those who exclusively serve Indiana or an military bases).d. Underserved Geographic Area - is a Primary Care Analysis Area (PCAA), population group specialty area, or service area that meets the criteria stated below in Section 3 of this rule.e. Full-Time- Equivalent Primary Care Physician - in a primary care physician who provides patient care an average of forty hours per week. For primary care physicians who provide patient care for fewer than forty hours per week, every four hours spent in providing patient care will be counted as a 0.1 full-time equivalent.f. Population to Primary Care Physician Ratio - is determined by dividing the population of a Primary Care Analysis Area by the number of full-time equivalent primary care physicians who practice within the Area. The ratio for each Primary Care Analysis Area will be expressed as a number of people per one primary care physician (e.g., 2100:1).g. Contiguous Area-Primary Care Providers - are those primary care physicians who are located in areas that are contiguous to the PCAA that is being considered for placement of a contract student. Contiguous area primary care providers will be considered overutilized if the population to primary care physician ratio exceeds 1500:1 in the contiguous area.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 504, § 1