New York State Information for State Health Policy Project

Funded Proposal

The New York State Department of Health has been designated by Governor Mario Cuomo as the lead agency for Phase II of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Information for State Health Policy Project in New York State. DOH is the most appropriate agency for coordinating and implementing health data and information improvements. It is a leader in establishing and carrying out the state's health policy agenda, has established effective relationships with other key health entities, and has extensive health data resources. The Project Directors are Ronald Rouse, Director, Division of Planning, Policy and Resource Development and Thomas Giroux, Director, Information Systems and Health Statistics Group. These directors provide a strong blend of health policy and technical expertise for improving the state's health data infrastructure. The total amount of the grant request is $999,706.

NYS will make permanent improvements to the state's health infrastructure because:

• RWJF funding will provide critical initial impetus for this project to galvanize existing but unorganized forces and to evaluate and modify new information systems.

• Key policy issues identified by policymakers will guide this project.

• The Consortium and project staff have thoroughly assessed the feasibility of the proposed data improvements.

• DOH as lead agency is a leader in health policymaking and in making data resources accessible to policymakers and their organizations.

• NYS has extensive health data resources that can be transformed to useful information systems.

• Experienced staff and consultants will work closely with policymakers and their staff to ensure that the new information will help them address policy questions and issues.

• User-friendly computer interfaces and electronic communications will improve access to these information resources.

• RWJF funded positions will be supplemented and then replaced after project termination with state funded positions 100% dedicated to this effort.

During Phase I DOH staff created, fostered, and sustained a new organization - the Health Policy Information Consortium-a group of over 100 key private and public health agencies that shape NYS's health policies - and a new process to improve the policy-relevance of NYS's health data (Figure 1). During Phase II dedicated DOH in-kind and project staff will continue to provide lead support to the Consortium and to implement data improvements.

The carefully designed and successful consensus/cooperation building process developed during Phase I will be continued and refined during Phase II with assistance from qualified consultants. This process allows Consortium members to: (1) agree on key health policy issues and problems that must be addressed; (2) develop data and information improvement strategies to fill data gaps; (3) ensure data improvements will be integrated with health policymaking; and (4) oversee implementation of data improvement projects. They will meet regularly to advise on projects and identify new health policy information needs. They will be kept apprised of important health data developments through a newsletter and project updates.

The short-term priority policy issue to be addressed is assuring access to appropriate health care, particularly primary care. The long-term priority issues are to: (1) improve NYS's ability to increase access to health care with more detailed and specific information on special populations (e.g., pregnant substance abusers), health status and coverage within NYS's communities; and (2) develop the capability for tracking and modeling health care utilization and expenditures.

NYS's Phase II proposal calls for the implementation of four projects in support of these access policies. The first two projects will support the development of broad-based access policies. The next two will support more specific access concerns and use data improvement tools that can serve as a model for other priority health issues.

1. A statewide population survey detailing demographic, health status, health services use, and health care coverage characteristics.

2. A health accounts system for health care services use and expenditures by payer and provider.

3. A geographic information system (GIS) with built in data displays for assessing the need for primary and preventive care.

4. A longitudinal multi-agency database linking alcoholism and substance abuse treatment files for pregnant women with vital statistics data using a common unique identifier.

By the end of Phase II, NYS will have new information systems that meet policy needs rather than agency needs (Figure 2). Policymakers will be able to sit at their keyboards and walk through a series of menus and user-friendly interfaces to get the data they need in various user-friendly formats and displays. Just as important, through the Health Policy Information Consortium, NYS will have a permanent structure and process for fostering health data and information improvements relevant to current and emerging policy issues.

Structure and Size of the IWG:

2 Tiers - Management and Invited IWG
Project Management Committee
4 State and 4 Non-state Agencies

Interagency Work Group
6 Elected; 8 Executive Agencies; 8 Providers;
5 Consumers/lnterests Organizations;
1 Academic; Planning/Research

Issues:

Primary Care/Access (Short)
High Risk Populations (Long)
Health Care Access and Financing (Long)

Effected Data Systems:

Household Population Survey (New)
Health Accounts (New)
Hospital Discharge (Link)
Birth (Link)
Death (Link)
Medicaid Data (Link)
Drug & Alcohol Treatment Clinic Data (Link)

Dissemination:

Reports
Newsletter
Community Profiles
Community Assistance
Briefings
User Conferences
Public Use Tapes

Electronic Products:

Public Use Tapes
Geographic Information System
E-mail
User Friendly Software
Data Files

Data Standards:

Linkage Protocol
Confidentiality
Cooperative Agreements

The New York State Department of Health has been designated by Governor Mario Cuomo as the lead agency for Phase II of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Information for State Health Policy Project in New York State. DOH is the most appropriate agency for coordinating and implementing health data and information improvements. It is a leader in establishing and carrying out the state's health policy agenda, has established effective relationships with other key health entities, and has extensive health data resources. The Project Directors are Ronald Rouse Director, Division of Planning, Policy and Resource Development and Thomas Giroux, Director, Information Systems and Health Statistics Group. These directors provide a strong blend of health policy and technical expertise for improving the state's health data infrastructure. The total amount of the grant request is $999,706.

NYS will make permanent improvements to the state's health infrastructure because:

• RWJF funding will provide critical Initial Impetus for this project to galvanize existing but unorganized forces and to evaluate and modify new information systems.
• Key policy issues identified by policymakers will guide this project.
• The Consortium and project staff have thoroughly assessed the feasibility of the proposed data improvements.
• DOH as lead agency is a leader in health policymaking and in making data resources accessible to policymakers and their organizations.
• NYS has extensive health data resources that can be transformed to useful information systems.
• Experienced staff and consultants will work closely with policymakers and their staff to ensure that the new information will help them address policy questions and issues.
• User-friendly computer interfaces and electronic communications will improve access to these information resources.
• RWJF funded positions will be supplemented and then replaced after project termination with state funded positions 100% dedicated to this effort.

During Phase I DOH staff created, fostered, and sustained a new organization - the Health Policy Information Consortium - a group of over 100 key private and public health agencies that shape NYS's health policies - and a new process to improve the policy- relevance of NYS's health data (Figure 1). During Phase II dedicated DOH in-kind and project staff will continue to provide lead support to the Consortium and to implement data improvements.

The carefully designed and successful consensus/cooperation building process developed during Phase I will be continued and refined during Phase II with assistance from highly qualified consultants. This process allows Consortium members to: (1) agree on key health policy issues and problems that must be addressed; (2) develop data and information improvement strategies to fill data gaps; (3) ensure data improvements will be integrated with health policymaking; and (4) oversee implementation of data improvement projects. They will meet regularly to advise on projects and identify new health policy information needs. They will be kept apprised of important health data developments through a newsletter and project updates.

The short-term priority policy issue to be addressed is assuring access to appropriate health care, particularly primary care. The long-term priority issues are to: (1) improve NYS's ability to increase access to health care with more detailed and specific information on special populations (e.g. pregnant substance abusers), health status and coverage within NYS's communities; and (2) develop the capability for tracking and modeling health care utilization and expenditures.

NYS's Phase II proposal calls for the implementation of four projects in support of these access policies. The first two projects will support the development of broad-based access policies. The next two will support more specific access concerns and use data improvement tools that can serve as a model for other priority health issues.

1. A statewide population survey detailing demographic, health status, health services use, and health care coverage characteristics.
2. A health accounts system for health care services use and expenditures by payer and provider.
3. A geographic information system (GIS) with built in data displays for assessing the need for primary and preventive care.
4. A longitudinal multi-agency database linking alcoholism and substance abuse treatment files for pregnant women with vital statistics data using a common unique identifier.

By the end of Phase II, NYS will have new information systems that meet policy needs rather than agency needs (Figure 2). Policymakers will be able to sit at their keyboards and walk through a series of menus and user-friendly interfaces to get the data they need in various user-friendly formats and displays. Just as important, through the Health Policy Information Consortium, NYS will have a permanent structure and process for fostering health data and information improvements relevant to current and emerging policy issues.

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