Where are Rhode Island's doctor shortages?
3 Rhode Island counties have at least one federal shortage designation for primary care, mental health or dental care. Look up a hospital to see whether its area has a shortage.
Switch state
Primary care shortage
2 counties
40% of Rhode Island's 5 counties, against 88% nationally. 0 are designated as a whole county. 14 Rhode Island hospitals are in these counties.
Mental health shortage
3 counties
60% of Rhode Island's counties, against 93% nationally. 2 counties have a dental shortage designation.
Rhode Island's highest-need counties for primary care
Counties with the highest primary care shortage score (0 to 25; higher means greater need).
Providence
Part of county · 6 designations
Score 16
Mental health score 16
Washington
Part of county · 1 designation
Score 15
Mental health score 10
Every Rhode Island county with a shortage designation
Click a column to sort, or filter by county name. "Whole county" means the entire county is designated; "Part" means one or more areas within it (such as census tracts) or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated. The number is the highest shortage score in the county.
| County | Primary care | Mental health | Dental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newport Newport Hospital | – | ||
| Providence Butler Hospital, Eleanor Slater Hospital, Emma Pendleton Bradley Hosp, Landmark Medical Center, INC +8 more | |||
| Washington South County Hospital INC, Westerly Hospital | – |
No Rhode Island county with a shortage designation matches that name.
Only counties with at least one active area-based designation (geographic or population) are listed; Rhode Island has 5 counties in all. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health and 0 to 26 for dental care; higher means greater need. Bars show each score against the maximum. Source: Health Resources and Services Administration (data.hrsa.gov).
Questions about shortage areas in Rhode Island
Which Rhode Island counties are primary care shortage areas?
2 Rhode Island counties have all or part of the county designated as short of primary care providers (40% of 5). None is designated as a whole county. In the other 2, part of the county or a population group (such as low-income residents) is designated.
Which Rhode Island county has the greatest need for primary care?
Providence has the highest primary care shortage score in Rhode Island: 16 on a scale of 0 to 25, where higher means greater need. Next highest: Washington (15).
Is there a mental health care shortage in Rhode Island?
3 Rhode Island counties have a mental health shortage designation (60% of counties, against 93% nationally), 2 of them for the whole county. The highest mental health score is in Providence (16 of 25). 2 counties have a dental shortage designation.
How does Rhode Island compare with the rest of the U.S.?
40% of Rhode Island's counties have a primary care shortage designation, lower than the national figure of 88% (2,759 of 3,143 counties). Many designations cover only part of a county or a population group, so a county being listed doesn't mean every resident lacks care.
What do the shortage scores mean?
HRSA scores each shortage area on how severe the need is, using things like the ratio of people to providers, poverty and travel time to care. Scores run from 0 to 25 for primary care and mental health, and from 0 to 26 for dental care. Higher scores mean greater need, and the highest-scoring areas get priority for National Health Service Corps clinicians.
Rhode Island Medicare penalties Rhode Island hospital finances Non-profit hospitals in Rhode Island Rhode Island hospital price lists Rhode Island healthcare salaries All hospitals in Rhode Island Hospitals per capita
Shortage areas in every state
HRSA designates Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) where there are too few providers for the population: for primary care, generally fewer than one doctor for every 3,500 people (or 3,000 in high-need areas). Designations unlock federal programs such as National Health Service Corps clinicians and Medicare bonus payments. About the data.
Shortage areas in other states
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming