A.R.S. tit. 36 ch. 24 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 36 Chapter 24 — Medically-Underserved Area Health Services

36-2351. Definitions In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: 1. "Construction" means building, erection, fabrication or installation. 2. "Coordinating medical provider" means a physician or group of physicians, or any combination thereof, which has entered into an agreement with a county, incorporated city or town, health service district or the department to supervise the medical care offered at a medical clinic, as defined by this section. 3. "Department" means the department of health services. 4. "Health service district" means a health service district established pursuant to title 48, chapter 16, article 1. 5. "Hospital" means a health care institution licensed as a hospital pursuant to chapter 4, article 2 of this title. 6. "Medical clinic" means a facility, whether mobile or stationary, which provides ambulatory medical care in a medically-underserved area through the employment of physicians, professional nurses, physician assistants or other health care technical and paraprofessional personnel. 7. "Physician" means a physician licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13, 14 or 17. 36-2352. Designation of medically-underserved areas A. The department shall designate areas of medical need in this state as medically-underserved if either: 1. The area is designated as a health professional shortage area as defined in 42 Code of Federal Regulations part 5. 2. The area is designated as medically underserved by the department of health services by using an index that measures the following indicators: (a) The availability of services based on a population to primary care provider ratio. (b) The area's geographic accessibility to health care services. (c) The percentage of the area's population that is at or below a designated federal poverty level. (d) The health needs of the area as determined by factors which may include the incidence of infant mortality, low weight births and inadequate prenatal care. (e) Other factors indicative of medically underserved areas which may include unemployment and the presence of farm workers, minorities and the elderly. B. The department of health services shall submit a report to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives beginning October 1, 1996 and every two years thereafter that reevaluates the criteria, effectiveness and recommendations for changes, if necessary, to the index. The report shall also include a summary of the communities designated as medically underserved and a listing of the programs they were able to utilize based on the medically underserved designation. 36-2353. Medically-underserved areas; selection of coordinating medical providers A. For each area designated as medically-underserved, the department may assist counties, incorporated cities and towns or health service districts to recruit a coordinating medical provider. Selection of a coordinating medical provider shall be based upon such provider's proximity to the medically-underserved area and the ability and willingness of such provider to fulfill the requirements established pursuant to section 36-2354. B. If no coordinating medical provider is located in or near the medically-underserved area, the university of Arizona may agree to serve as the coordinating medical provider for the area. 36-2354. Coordinating medical provider; duties A coordinating medical provider for a medically-underserved area shall perform certain functions as determined by the department in order to ensure the provision of adequate medical care by the medical clinic. These functions may include: 1. Diagnostic services through a communications system between the clinic and the coordinating medical provider. 2. Overall direction of medical care offered at the clinic or facility, including a periodic evaluation of the quality of such care. 3. Drug prescription services. 4. Communication services to facilitate patient treatment during emergency transit to the clinic or a hospital. 36-2355. Financial responsibility for services rendered to indigents Counties may enter into intergovernmental agreements pursuant to title 11, chapter 7, article 3, whereby indigents may receive medical services covered by the county indigent medical program in their county of residence at the nearest medical clinic, regardless of location. Such agreements may provide for reimbursement to the county which provides the medical services from the county in which the indigent resides.