A geographic area appropriate for the effective planning and development of health services. Section 1511 of the PHS Act requires that health service areas be delineated throughout the United States. The governors of the various States designate the areas using requirements specified in the law respecting geography, political boundaries, population, health resources and coordination with areas defined for other purposes.
A specific geographic area considered in the governmental health planning process. The boundaries of health service areas were established in compliance with 1974 federal legislation on the basis of population, political subdivisions, geography, and other factors. The term “health service area” may also be used more loosely to mean service area, the area from which a facility or program actually draws its patients or clients, that is, its “catchment area.”