The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #50436

William G Johnson, PhD¹, Steven C. Marcus, PhD², Amy M. Bartels, MPH¹, and Saundra E. Johnson, MPA³. (1) School of Health Administration and Policy and Department of Economics, Arizona State University, Box 874506, Tempe, AZ 85287-4506, 480-965-7442, william.g.johnson@asu.edu, (2) University of Pennsylvania, 215 South 24th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, (3) Flinn Foundation, 1802 N. Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Introduction: Health services researchers investigating questions about uninsured populations generally use one of the following data sources: patient surveys, patient medical records or administrative data. Typically, researchers have preferred using surveys, while virtually ignoring the largest source of information, the administrative data collected every day for every health care encounter. This bias may partially stem from the misplaced notion that administrative data do not identify uninsured individuals or capture their healthcare utilization. This study demonstrates the strength and accuracy of combining administrative data with other data sources to examine the health care utilization of individuals in Yuma County, Arizona. Methods: Data from the county’s health care providers and health-related organizations are used to create a community health data system (CHDS). Data from the primary ‘safety-net’ health care organizations, state Medicaid and immunization data, limited employer-based health insurance claims data and an annual survey of primarily Hispanic neighborhoods are merged to create the CHDS. Providers were allowed to submit the data in any format, and matching algorithms were used to create the data set. Conclusion: The results confirm the viability of using local administrative data to estimate the population of uninsured children. In addition to serving as the basis for county-level estimates of insurance coverage, the CHDS offers the advantage of following individuals longitudinally and providing extensive information on the types and quantities of health care utilized by the persons included in the data. The data system has been valuable to the community advisory committee for needs assessment and service planning.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe how to create a community health data system.
• Articulate how to use administrative data to examine individual patterns of care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.