National Association of Health Data Organizations Recognizes Colorado, Virginia
The National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO), a national nonprofit membership and educational association dedicated to improving healthcare data collection and use, has recognized members in Colorado and Virginia with Innovation in Data Dissemination Awards.
NAHDO’s members include state and private health data organizations that maintain statewide healthcare data bases and stakeholders of these databases in the public and private sectors. NAHDO and its members are leaders in hospital discharge data reporting systems and emerging All-Payer Claims Databases (APCDs).
In the past few years, CIVHC has greatly expanded its suite of data dissemination products. NAHDO said these products successfully illustrate the many different areas that the Colorado All Payer Claims Database (CO APCD) can be used for by consumers, communities, organizations, policymakers, and other stakeholders to support the drive towards the Triple Aim framework for all Coloradans, other state populations and nationwide: better health, better care, and lower costs.
The award particularly recognizes CIVHC’s successful implementation of the Health Equity Analysis Dashboard for its innovative and successful approach in making useful data available to the public.
Through strategic collaborations and partnerships and continuously scanning for topics of high interest for stakeholders, CIVHC has conceptualized, developed and published a series of reports, infographics, and downloadable data files that improve the public’s awareness about health and healthcare use and cost in Colorado and provide access to timely, reliable and actionable information—cornerstones of outstanding dissemination activities.
Additionally, CIVHC promotes engagement with these dissemination products, as well as with the CO APCD and other data resources, in a few important ways: (a) by organizing the ‘Data to Drive Decisions’ webinar series to introduce new reports and related resources to targeted audiences, (b) by transforming complex analyses into user-friendly summaries or insights in the form of infographics, Data Bytes and Data Dives, and (c) by providing access to methodological and technical notes and other data and analytic resources to supplement the available reports and ensure transparency around the data sources, analytic decisions and measures used, strategies for maintaining data and reporting quality, and clarifying the process that external users would have to go through for acquiring the data for their own analyses.
The Virginia Department of Health
NAHDO also recognized the Virginia Department of Health for optimizing accessibility and enhancing user experience in various public-facing COVID-19 content.
The COVID-19 workgroup of professionals from the Division of Informatics and Information Systems (DIIS), Center for Public Health Informatics (CPHI), and the Division of Surveillance and Investigation (DSI) demonstrated extraordinary commitment and effort to optimize accessibility and enhance user experience in various public-facing COVID-19 content.
This initiative was undertaken with a laser-focused aim to create a barrier-free information dissemination platform, rendering it as an instrumental resource during this critical period of the pandemic. The workgroup’s pioneering endeavor, which included the meticulous redesign of dashboards, web pages, and public-use data sets, showcases their unwavering commitment to advancing accessibility, according to NAHDO.
The innovative solutions they implemented resulted in substantial improvements in data readability, visual appeal, and user navigation, making vital pandemic-related information accessible to a broader audience. One of the group’s noteworthy accomplishments includes the successful elimination of barriers to accessibility by refining the content of the dashboards. This process necessitated an in-depth understanding of user requirements and the ability to translate complex data into a universally understandable format.
The workgroup also demonstrated an exceptional ability to communicate complex information through simple language. This substantial enhancement in the clarity of information effectively addressed potential comprehension challenges, ensuring that critical public health messages were accessible and understandable to all.
Elliot Stone Award of Excellence in Health Data Leadership
NAHDO’s 2023 Elliot Stone Award of Excellence in Health Data Leadership was awarded to Karynlee Harrington, the executive director of the Maine Health Data Organization and the Maine Quality Forum. Under Harrington’s leadership, the MHDO has become the primary source of reliable healthcare information for use within the State of Maine and by external researchers. The MHDO’s wealth of information is being used more than ever to inform healthcare policy throughout Maine. Harrington has created a culture where stakeholder data needs are met through continuous improvement, ongoing engagement, and flexibility. During her time, MHDO has supported legislation including transparency of healthcare costs and quality, surprise billing, worker’s compensation, MaineCare rate setting, opioid analyses, insulin costs, primary care and behavioral health care spending in Maine, ambulance costs, prescription drug costs, right to shop, Maine’s reinsurance program, and the Office of Affordable HealthCare.
