• Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States: 1999-2017 Deaths from drug overdose continue to be a public health burden in the United States. This report uses the most recent final mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to update trends in drug overdose deaths, describe demographic and geographic patterns, and identify shifts in the types of drugs involved.
• Suicide Morality in the United States: 1999-2017 This data brief uses final mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) to update trends in suicide mortality from 1999 through 2017 and to describe differences by sex, age group, and urbanization level of the decedent’s county of residence.
• Drugs most frequently involved in drug overdose deaths United States 2011-2016: From 1999 through 2016, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths in the United States more than tripled from 6.1 per 100,000 to 19.8 per 100,000.

• Washington Data Dashboard Update: Updated with over 20 new measures and sub-measures, also updated specifications for existing measures to align with P4P requirements.
• Value-Based Payment: Value Based Payment (VBP) is a concept by which purchasers of health care (government, employers, and consumers) and payers (public and private) hold the health care delivery system at large (physicians and other providers, hospitals, etc.) accountable for both quality and cost of care.
• APCD Council (All-Payer Claims Database): In 2007, the Regional All-Payer Healthcare Information Council (RAPHIC) began as a convening organization to bring together several Northeast states that had, or were developing, All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) systems.
• HIT/HIE Ops Plan 2019: Inter-operable HIT and HIE have the potential to improve the quality, continuity, coordination, and safety of patient care, while at the same time reducing unnecessary and costly services. Furthermore, the use of these technologies will help facilitate the State’s broader goals of moving toward value-based purchasing.

• Washington State Drug Overdose Quarterly Report: This report contains data from 2016/2017 and was updated May 30, 2018 and this report covers Opioid/Drug Death data and Hospitalization data.
• Opioid Prescriptions and Drug Overdoses Accountable Communities of Health Data: This data can be used to monitor Prescription opioid use and opioid-related morality and to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic in WA State.
• HIV prevention strategies and guidance from the Washington State Department of Health (WDOH): The Health Care Authority (HCA) is partnering with the Department of Health (DOH) to share a series of messages with health care providers about HIV prevention and best practices in caring for priority populations.
• Choice has maps of RFP/CPAA Assessment partners in our region: The data team is working to get addresses of our partners that may have offices outside of our region, to find resources they may have within our region.
• Chronic School Absenteeism among Children with Selected Developmental Disabilities: Data is from 2014-2016 NHIS, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
• Indian Health Care Provider Projects: An overview of the Indian Health Care Provider (IHCP) projects and how they fit within the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP).
• Connecting and Leveraging PDMP Data: Interventions for the Opioid Crisis which includes 28 slides surrounding the Opioid Epidemic.
• EpiTrends: Monthly online publications produced by the WDOH for those interested in epidemiology and public health practices in Washington State.
• Washington State Influenza Update: It is time to think about flu! Influenza activity usually peaks in winter, and the time to prepare is now. Influenza is the topic of the October 2018 issue of epiTRENDS. This article reviews influenza surveillance and reporting with a focus on the activities of Washington’s local health jurisdictions related to influenza.

A few bullet points regarding Appendix K of the Medicaid Transformation Measurement Guide:

• P4R metrics only pertain to project areas 2A and 3A. Clinic/Practice sites and CBO’s should be the only respondents to questions related to project area 3A.
• Opioid prescribing practices may be more important to clinic/practices but not as important to CBO’s, at the same time metrics may be less important to some clinic/practices than they are to CBO’s.
• Questions asked to respondents are interpreted in a way that best supports or is most appropriate to their organization.
• HCA may use the “Potential Follow-up Questions” to interview some respondents to learn more program through a structured interview.
• Deadline for reporting of P4R metrics is the month AFTER the reporting period ends. (I.E. Reporting period January –June 2019 has a reporting deadline of July 2019).
• Reporting dates will be Semi-Annual with January and June being the months reporting ends and begins.

Selecting Quality and Resource Use Measure: A decision guide for community quality collaborative:

6 questions surrounding data and answers to those questions that includes the framework for evaluating and selecting data from various sources. Multiple data sources are available in Part 1 of the report.

ProviderOne update: Enrollment screens will change

Health Care Authority (HCA) is updating ProviderOne as part of regular maintenance. These changes affect the ProviderOne enrollment application and modifications screen used by providers.

Apple Health dental moving to managed care:

The projected costs of the Managed Care Dental Program requires that the Legislature be given the opportunity to enact a budget that provides the funding necessary to implement the program. In order to ensure the Legislature has time to complete its important work, the Health Care Authority’s (HCA) Managed Care Dental Program will not be implemented until July 1, 2019.

Health Insurance Coverage: Early release of estimates for the National Health Interview Survey, January-March 2018:

This report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) presents selected estimates of health insurance coverage for the civilian non institutionalized U.S. population based on data from the 2018 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), along with comparable estimates from previous calendar years.

Healthier Washington quarterly webinar series presents rural solutions for health care transformation:

September 24^th from Noon to 1 P.M. This presentation will focus on the unique challenges to health care delivery posed by rural and remote conditions, and the opportunities for improvement offered by Washington’s health transformation efforts. (Click title for information on how to register for this webinar).

• State Assessment County Data Tables: DOH now has an excel file with the county level data that was available in chart form in the report. This data product is available (Here)
• Healthier Washington Data Dashboard (HWDD): Data will be updated in early August 2018 Per AIM Team. You can find this tool under AIM Data Dashboard Suite on this (Link). Here you can find:
  • Emergency Department Visits, Medicaid Enrollees
  • Inpatient facility admittance, Medicaid Enrollees
  • Concentration of Medicaid recipients in a Sub-Population or Geographic Area
• National Center for Health Statistics: Fertility of men and women aged 15-44 in the United States: National Survey of Family Growth, 2011-2015 (Link)
• National Center for Health Statistics: Describing the increase in preterm births in the United States, 2014-2016 (Link)
• National Vital Statistics Series: Timing and adequacy of prenatal care in the United States, 2016 (Link)
• National Center for Health Statistics: Issues in developing multidimensional indices of state-level health inequalities: National Health Interview Survey, 2013-2015 (Link)
• National Center for Health Statistics: Mental Health-related physician offices visits by adults aged 18 and over: United States 2012-2014 (Link)
• National Center for Health Statistics: Characteristics of office-based physician visits, 2015 (Link)
• National Center for Health Statistics: Trends in liver cancer mortality among adults aged 25 and over in the United States, 2000-2016 (Link)

• What is the Monthly Data Update? The Monthly Data Update (MDU) is a quick monthly rundown of all the data that has either been released, summarized, saved, or shared with the data team. This will let staff know what data is available and when that data was released, as well as any data sources, or data documentation the data team has received during the month.
• Will this be another spreadsheet for me to hunt and find? No! This will just be a quick post with links to information regarding monthly data updates.
• Where can this post be found? This post is saved in the data folder (T:\IT\Data\MonthlyUpdate\) and is also available on the data website (org/data)
• The Data Dictionary (Link) is an ever expanding guide that shows what sources we use, and what information the data team has on-hand. It also has the internal and external links as well as a description and granularity (level of detail)[1] of the data provided.
• Healthier Washington Data Dashboard (to be updated quarterly by HCA): The Healthier Washington Data Dashboard allows users to explore data on populations and measures for Washington State. The statewide measures for all populations and HEDIS quality measures for Medicaid population can be compared by region and trended by time. (Link)
• Measures Decomposition reports produced by RDA: Contains measures that are located on the HWDD (Healthier Washington Data Dashboard) and others not located there. May, 2018 (Link)
• AIM Data Dashboard Suite (to be updated quarterly by HCA): includes demographic makeup of the Medicaid population vs. overall Washington population, high-volume providers of specific health services to Medicaid clients, and metrics relevant to topics like opioid prescribing and chronic disease in the Medicaid population. (Link)
• Washington State Drug Overdose Quarterly Report: Includes data from all of 2017. (Link)
• Through the CDC – NHIS-Early Release Reports: Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey. May, 2018 (Link)

If you need access to any data files or have any regarding any data related products, please contact the Data Team.

Tools used in data team visuals and reports: PowerBi, Tableau, Excel.

[1] Privacy Classifications for Washington’s Data:

Data Security

Data security components outlined in this section are designed to reduce the risk associated with the unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction of agency data.

4.1. Data Classification

Agencies must classify data into categories based on the sensitivity of the data.

Agency data classifications must translate to or include the following classification categories:

(1) Category 1 – Public Information

Public information is information that can be or currently is released to the public. It does not need protection from unauthorized disclosure, but does need integrity and availability protection controls.

(2) Category 2 – Sensitive Information

Sensitive information may not be specifically protected from disclosure by law and is for official use only. Sensitive information is generally not released to the public unless specifically requested.

(3) Category 3 – Confidential Information

Confidential information is information that is specifically protected from either release or disclosure by law. This includes, but is not limited to:

1. Personal information as defined in RCW 42.56.590 and RCW 19.255.10.
2. Information about public employees as defined in RCW 42.56.250.
3. Lists of individuals for commercial purposes as defined in RCW 42.56.070 (9).
4. Information about the infrastructure and security of computer and telecommunication networks as defined in RCW 42.56.420.

(4) Category 4 – Confidential Information Requiring Special Handling

Confidential information requiring special handling is information that is specifically protected from disclosure by law and for which:

1. Especially strict handling requirements are dictated, such as by statutes, regulations, or agreements.
2. Serious consequences could arise from unauthorized disclosure, such as threats to health and safety, or legal sanctions.

Source: https://ocio.wa.gov/policy/securing-information-technology-assets-standards