RESEARCH DATA ASSISTANCE CENTER (ResDAC)

The Center for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) intends to release a sole source RFP to the University of Minnesota to continue the activities of the Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC). The purpose of the ResDAC is to assists CMS to increase the number of researchers skilled in accessing and using CMS data for studies which will improve the Medicare and Medicaid programs and add value to current CMS activities. This includes assisting researchers nationwide who may or may not be familiar with the data available at CMS and its use. ResDAC Technical Advisors will describe the data, comment on its applicability to the proposed research, and help researchers with the process of gaining an approved Data Use Agreement (DUA). Additionally, the ResDAC is to assist CMS with developing new data release procedures that will efficiently streamline the current data request process. CMS is currently changing its data policies and is developing new data access and tracking tools. The coming changes to CMS' data policies and the creation of new tracking tools will affect how CMS releases data to researchers in the future. With the coming activities surrounding the Innovation Center, Federal-State Coordination, research, demonstrations, and other priority agency projects, CMS will need to expedite the data acquisition process as quickly and accurately as possible. A wide range of research is carried out and supported by CMS, much of it using data that originate from operation of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The Medicare program covers Parts A (Hospital Insurance), B (Supplemental Medical Insurance), C (Medicare Advantage programs) and, now, Part D, the prescription drug program. The Office of Enterprise Management (OEM) has and continues to conduct and support research on all programs that CMS operates. The research has involved the evaluation of CMS program changes, the impact of legislation, access to care, utilization of services, the costs of care, health services outcomes, the appropriateness of care, quality of care, the epidemiology of disease in the population and other topics. A key component of OEM, CMS research support involves collaboration with outside researchers. Researchers in the health services arena are affiliated with other government agencies and commissions (both Federal and State), the academic community (schools of medicine, public health, public policy, and economics), non-profit organizations, private consultants (for-profit health research organizations) and other private sector health services providers (hospitals and Medicare Advantage plans). In the course of operating its programs, CMS maintains and utilizes a vast array of data. These data provide information on eligibility and enrollment, Medicare and Medicaid providers, claims and utilization, program regulations, and clinical assessment information that support program oversight, research and evaluation purposes. In the early 1990's, CMS became aware that there are many potential researchers who are not familiar with the wealth of complex Medicare and Medicaid data available. Furthermore, CMS data are not always easy to use, even for researchers experienced with administrative databases. Because of the complexity of the data, for the many health care researchers it is often difficult for them to prepare first-time requests with the appropriate level of specificity needed. Researchers are not always aware of what data are available, when updates take place, the applicability of specific data elements, the implications of CMS program changes on data consistency, and techniques for linking CMS data with data from other sources. In the ensuing years, it has become more difficult for even frequent users of CMS data to use the current files being released. Due to changes in CMS policies regarding beneficiary privacy, the linking of data files has become more challenging as the personal identifiers (i.e., a SSN or HIC) for a beneficiary is no longer provided, rather a unique ID per study is being released. In addition to the CMS Data Center, CMS is now distributing data to researchers prepared by contractors (the Chronic Conditions Warehouse (CCW)) which have different formats. Finally, and very importantly, requirements for requesting the data have evolved to become more stringent in recent years in order to better protect beneficiaries.