Data Request Guidelines

The Health Professions Annual Profile data sets are downloadable free of charge. However, if you are unable to find the data there that you need, you may submit a request to the Health Professions Data Coordinator,  who will be able to help you with the specific information that you may require.

Requests for individual-level data from the Health Professions Data System requires prior written approval from the respective licensing board since the data are confidential. The cost is dependent on the output type and the number of records output. Some of the licensing boards have certain restrictions, so not all formats are available for all data. The data are confidential as they include detailed information on the individuals licensed. Board approval is normally not required if the data requested do not identify individuals but any requests for names, addresses, or other individual-level data from the Health Professions Data System require prior written approval from the respective licensing board. Some of the licensing boards have certain restrictions, so not all formats are available for all data. The cost is dependent on the output type and the number of records output as described in the price list.

If board approval is necessary, the following steps should be taken:

1. Contact the Health Professions Data Coordinator to discuss the details of your request. Direct verbal or written approval from the executive officer of the appropriate board is required before any data can be released by the Sheps Center.

2. A letter should be sent to the executive officer of the appropriate board (see Licensing Boards list) explaining the need for the data in question, and the preferred format of the data. If the data are for an announcement or a survey, a copy of the brochure or questionnaire to be sent is usually helpful. The letter should request that approval be granted to the Sheps Center to provide the data. Sending a copy of the letter to the Sheps Center Coordinator is also helpful.

Data are provided in several formats:

  • mailing lists (electronic)
  • cross-tabulations
  • frequencies
  • graphic representations

Whenever possible, please allow for a two-week period for the processing of routine requests; a longer period will be required if extensive programming is needed. The charge is based on the output type and the total number of records. If data are required immediately, please indicate. An urgent request will be processed as soon as it can be scheduled into the workload, and an additional charge will be assessed. However, no assurance can be given earlier than two weeks after the request has been received.

Order health professions mailing lists or data files