Utah Health Data Committee
Office of Health Care Statistics
Progress Report
The following projects have been completed (or nearly completed) since July 2016.
NOTEWORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS
● We have been recognized as a national leader on navigating the process to receive substance abuse treatment data protected by federal regulation 42 CFR Part 2 into the APCD
● We have also been recognized as a leading innovator in responding to the Supreme Court ruling affecting ERISA plans
● We have made the decision to move forward in requesting and receiving Medicare data directly from CMS and are making great progress
● Due to business decisions and changes in processes, we have dramatically improved the release schedule for Healthcare Facilities Data from annual release with a 12-15 month delay to quarterly release with a 90 day delay.
BUSINESS PRACTICES
● Updated Fee Schedule - As part of our annual review, we made a request to modernize our fee schedules. The new fee schedule simplifies how discounts are applied and gives the office more flexibility when working with data intermediaries and consultants.
● Contact Directory - We consolidated all of our contacts into a single, simple database. The new shared database allows us to make updates office-wide and also allows staff to share resources.
● Project Management - One of our strategic goals has been to improve our project management framework. We have implemented Asana as our preferred tool to monitoring and track progress, assigned tasks and deadlines. We have also developed a kanban board to more appropriately allocate resources to projects and track overall progress.
● Web site consolidation - We consolidated all of our web resources into a single web site, http://stats.health.utah.gov. We chose to use a WordPress format to allow all staff members easy access to maintain the information on their projects and areas of assignment to ensure that up to date information is available to the public
● Query consolidation - We streamlined and simplified the way that the general public accesses our data. We reduced overhead by consolidating and eliminating duplicate functions.
● Database server upgrade to SQL 2016 - We recently upgraded our analytics to SQL 2016. This has allowed access to more modern features and database tools.
● Quality Compass acquisition - We are working out a long-term arrangement with NCQA to allow us to receive the Quality Compass reports each year with minimal contracting issues.
● Cycle IV grant management & extension - We have requested and were approved for an extension of the Cycle IV federal grant. This will allow us to use the remaining funds to enhance our APCD efforts, including the on-boarding of Medicare data.
● Data supplier registration - We have updated and simplified the process for data suppliers to register their current contacts (required annually) and have worked with all data suppliers to ensure compliance with the annual requirement.
● System Security Plans (SSPs) updated - We have updated all of our required Systems Security Plans and reviewed with the Office of Health Data Security.
● DTS IT Plans - We revised our DTS IT plans for FY18 jointly with our DTS team and have come to an agreed estimate of needed DTS resources for the year.
● Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) developed - We have developed and filed a DRP with the Department.
● Institutional License #1 - We have successfully contracted with our first Institutional Data License holder (University of Utah).
DATA COLLECTION AND PROCESSING
● APCD RFP Consultant - Our current APCD data management and analytics contract with 3M Health Information Systems expires in November 2018. We have contracted with NAHDO to be our consultant in developing the RFP for the next contractor.
● Mercer Contract - We have contracted with Mercer to process the healthcare facilities data (inpatient, ED, and ambulatory surgery centers). This contract will result in quarterly processing and release of the data with a 90 day or less turnaround (starting with 2017).
● SFTP Onboarding - For nine months of the past fiscal year, we created and operated a secure online data submission tool for the submission of facility data. This system was sunsetted when Mercer was able to provide this service as part of their contract.
● Facility Migration (close to finish) - We have been consolidating and compiling all of the healthcare facility data (from 1992 forward) into a common format, layout, and data platform. This project is nearing completion.
● Participate in the development of the Common Data Layout (CDL) - We have been a key player in the development of a common data layout for the submission and processing of APCD data across the country. The CDL has been finished and we are working with the Department of Labor to see if we can get formal nationwide adoption.
● Medicaid Mental Health Data - We are working with Optum (Salt Lake County’s contract provider) to develop a method for Medicaid Mental Health Plans (PMHP) to submit utilization data to the APCD.
DATA ANALYSIS
● Healthcare Delivery Systems Analysis (U19 Project) - OHCS partnered with HealthInsight to analyze cost and quality variation across systems and regions (CO, MA, OR and UT). The project used a set of eight standard quality measures to develop a common methodology.
● Controlled Substance Database (CSD) Project - OHCS is working with the CSD grant team to support development of a provider portal. Our team has access to the CSD and we are working to combine the CSD with our databases to support specific grant-funded research. Results have been published by OHCS in a Health Status Update (see below) and we are consulting with stakeholders and policymakers on opioid data resources.
● ASTHO Project - we are supporting the Bureau of Health Promotion in a joint project with the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers to use the APCD data to identify a study cohort of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension and prepare an adequate control group. The project will assess the initial impact of interventions on the population.
● UID Trend Analysis - Jaewhan Kim completed a cost trend analysis for the Utah Insurance department using the APCD. This analysis was developed to understand fundamental changes in unit costs to assist UID with rate review and other obligations.
● NRHI TCoC Phase II - OHCS joined HealthInsight to represent Utah in this national collaborative project involving six regions. The project’s goal is to establish benchmarks for the total cost of care for patients using 2014 data. OHCS provided data and technical expertise to produce clinic-specific report cards that HealthInsight distributed. The result of the project is an NQF endorsed measure on how to measure the total cost of a patient’s care so that this can be done consistently across the country.
● NRHI TCoC Phase III - After the successful implementation of Health Partner’s Total Cost of Care measure using the APCD, OHCS applied for and was awarded the Technical Advisor role during Phase III of this project. Analysts consult other regions on data quality control in addition to producing total cost of care reports for providers.
● Air Ambulance Data - As newly required by state law, we have provided data from the APCD to the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and Preparedness to assist in evaluating and reporting on the cost to patients who are transported by air ambulances in Utah.
DATA RELEASES
● HSU Publications -
○ Initial Diagnosis for Opioid Naive and Chronic Opioid Users - available Sept 2017
○ Community Health Spotlight: Showcase of Usability of Utah All Payer Claims Data (APCD) - January 2017
○ Using Clinical Risk Groups to Analyze the Utah All Payer Claims Data - June 2016
○ Healthcare Cost in Utah: Brief Summary of the 2014 Utah All Payer Claims Data - January 2016
● Health Plan HEDIS 2016 Data & Info Product - The 2016 HEDIS measures were reported to our office, analyzed and tabulated and an online information product is available for the public to compare health plan quality. The product may be viewed at http://stats.health.utah.gov/reports/hedis/.
● Relative Value Study for UID (Close to being finished) - OHCS is using the APCD to compute conversion factors for the Utah Insurance Department’s “personal injury protection” (PIP) Relative Value Study Fee Schedule.
● Clinic Comparison Reports - In the past 14 months we have published both the 2016 & 2017 clinic comparison reports (due by July 1 of each year). We worked with stakeholders to develop a set of meaningful quality measures, establish a review process and publish the final results.
● OpenFurther Pilot - OHCS partnered with other informatics programs in the center and at the University of Utah to test the OpenFurther framework. This framework is supposed to reduce the need for centralized databases. We were able to use the tool to interface with the APCD, however, no other sources have been interfaced with the system so it has been placed on hold.
● Sample APCD Dataset - We have created the specifications for a new data product that contains a usable subsample of the APCD. This is available to researchers who have limited budgets or computing capacity but can still provide useful insights into the health care system.
● MONAHRQ 2014 published (2015 data processing close) - Each year we update the MONAHRQ tool with data from the healthcare facilities database. This tool allows users to compare hospitals and facilities in many dimensions. The 2014 data has been added and we are just wrapping up the processing of the 2015 data.
● Health Plan & Dental CAHPS 2015 & 2016 data online, (2017 is close) - Each year health plans conduct CAHPS surveys to measure how satisfied health plan members are with their experiences with the care provided to them. We facilitate those surveys for many plans and compile all of the results into a single database. The information from both 2015 and 2016 has been published and we are just finishing up the analysis of the 2017 surveys. The product may be viewed at http://stats.health.utah.gov/about-the-data/health-plan-quality/.
● PBM CAHPS pilot 2016 - In the fall of 2016 we did a pilot version of CAHPS to gauge the satisfaction of clients with their PBM services. Although the project went well technically, we did not find the results to be very useful and have decided against continuing this project.
● OpenData - OHCS has been working the state’s official data portal (opendata.utah.gov) to identify data and information that we produce that is appropriate to release on that portal. Several of our prime data products have been structured to be compatible and are available. The products produced by OHCS may be viewed at https://opendata.utah.gov/browse?q=Health%20Care%20statistics