Glossary – FQHC

The percent of a facility’s patients who are seasonal or migratory agricultural workers. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 4, Line 16, Column a.)

The percent of a facility’s patients who have asthma. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 6A, Line 5, Column b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a nurse practitioner or other care provider. This measure is the average number of visits per nurse practitioner only. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 9a, Columns a and b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a physician or other care provider. This measure is the average number of visits per physician only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 8, Columns a and b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a physician assistant or other care provider. This measure is the average number of visits per physician assistant only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 9b, Columns a and b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a primary care provider (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) or other care provider. This measure is the average number of visits per primary care provider only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Lines 8, 9a, and 9b, Columns a and b.)

The average cost incurred by an FQHC per medical visit during the calendar year. This measure is calculated by dividing all costs related to medical visits by the number of medical visits. A facility that treats a complex patient population (like an HIV+ population) may have higher costs. (See UDS Table 5, Line 15, Column b and UDS Table 8A, Line 4, Column c.)

A facility’s average cost per patient seen during the calendar year. This measure factors in all costs a facility takes on, such as overhead costs. A facility that offers additional services (such as pharmacy services) may have higher costs. Likewise, a facility that treats a complex patient population (like an HIV+ population) may have higher costs. (See UDS, Table 8A, Line 17, Column C and UDS Table 4, Line 6, Column a.)

The average cost incurred by an FQHC per visit during the calendar year. This measure factors in all costs a facility takes on, such as overhead costs, and all types of visits, such as visits to a case worker. A facility that offers additional services (such as pharmacy services) may have higher costs. Likewise, a facility that treats a complex patient population (like an HIV+ population) may have higher costs. (See UDS Table 5, Line 34, Column b and UDS Table 8A, Line 17, Column c.)

A form filed by FQHCs annually with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The form contains information on costs, employee productivitity, and other variables.

The percent of a facility’s patients who have diabetes. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 6A, Line 9, Column b.)

A health center that has met certain criteria (including serving an underserved area of population and offering a sliding fee scale) established by the federal government. These centers receive special grant funding from the federal government and special reimbursement through Medicaid and Medicare.

The percent of a facility’s patients who have HIV. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 6A, Lines 1 and 2, Column b.)

The percent of a facility’s patients who are homeless. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 4, Line 23, Column a.)

The percent of a facility’s patients who have hypertension. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 6A, Line 11, Column b.)

A form filed annually with the Internal Revenue Service by federally tax-exempt organizations, including charitable hospitals. The form provides information on the organization, including its finances and programs. Hospital IRS Form 990s are provided to SCHealthData under license from GuideStar, “the leading source of nonprofit information, www.guidestar.org”

The percent of a facility’s patients who are enrolled in Medicaid. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS Table 4, Line 8, Columns a and b.)

The percent of a facility’s patients who are enrolled in Medicare. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS Table 4, Line 9, Columns a and b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a nurse practitioner or other care provider. This measure is the total number of visits per nurse practitioner only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 9a, Column b.)

This measure shows how much a facility spent on overhead costs as a percent of total costs during the calendar year. This measure does not classify enabling services (such as outreach, community education, and interpretation services) as overhead. (See UDS Table 8A, Line 16, Column a and UDS Table 8A, Line 17, Column c.)

The percent of a facility’s patients whose income puts them below the federal poverty line. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS Table 4, Line 1, Column a.)

The total number of patients served by a facility in a calendar year. (See UDS Table 4, Line 6, Column a.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a physician assistant or other care provider. This measure is the total number of visits to physician assistants only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 9b, Column b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a physician or other care provider. This measure is the number of visits to physicians only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 8, Column b.)

When patients visit an FQHC, they may be seen by a primary care provider or other care provider. This measure is the number of visits to primary care providers (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) only. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 5, Lines 8, 9a, and 9b, Column b.)

Total revenue minus total costs during a calendar year. This figure may be affected by special one-time grant funds. (See UDS, Table 8A, Line 17, Column C and UDS, Table 9D, Line 14, Column B.)

Revenue a facility receives from the federal government’s Bureau of Primary Health Care grants during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9E, Line 1, Column a.)

Revenue a facility receives from Medicaid during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9D, Line 3, Column b.)

Revenue a facility receives from treating Medicare beneficiaries during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9D, Line 6, Column b.)

Revenue a facility receives from non-federal grants or contracts (such as grants from state governments or private foundations) during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9E, Line 9, Column a.)

Revenue a facility receives from federal grant funding (such as Ryan White grants) during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9E, Line 5, Column a.)

Revenue a facility receives from state and local governments through programs other than indigent care programs during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9E, Line 1, Column a, and UDS, Table 9D, Line 9, Column b.)

Revenue a facility receives from other miscellaneous sources during the calendar year. This can include rental income, pharmacy income, and other types of income. (See UDS, Table 9E, Line 10, Column a.)

Revenue a facility receives from patient payments during the calendar year. This can include payments from self-pay patients and copays from patients with insurance coverage. (See UDS, Table 9D, Line 13, Column b.)

Revenue a facility receives from patients with private insurance (such as employer-sponsored insurance) during the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 9D, Line 12, Column b.)

The percent of a facility’s patients who received care at a school-based facility. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 4, Line 24, Column a.)

FQHCs are required to have a schedule of fees and discounts for the services they provide to uninsured patients.

The total costs incurred by a facility in the calendar year. (See UDS, Table 8A, Line 17, Column C.)

Revenue a facility garners from all sources during the calendar year. This figure may be affected by special one-time grant funds. (See UDS, Table 9D, Line 14, Column b and UDS, Table 9E, Line 11, Column a.)

The total number of visits to a facility during the calendar year, whether handled by a primary care provider or other staffer, such as a dentist, a mental health professional, or a case manager. (See UDS, Table 5, Line 34, Column b.)

The Uniform Data System (UDS) contains information on the operation and performance of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and FQHC look-alikes. The UDS is maintained by the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The UDS tracks information such as patient demographics, services provided, staffing, clinical indicators utilization rates costs and revenues. Years refer to calendar years in the database.

The percent of a facility’s patients who are uninsured. This is based on the calendar year. (See UDS Table 4, Line 7, Columns a and b.)