HSR Information Central

Data, Tools and Statistics

Databases/Repositories

Federal

• AGing Integrated Database (AGID) - (Administration on Aging (AOA) U.S.)  - On-line query system based on AoA-related data files and surveys, and includes population characteristics from the Census Bureau for comparison purposes. The system allows users to produce customized tables in a step-by-step process and output the results in print or spreadsheet form.

• AHRQ Kids' Inpatient Database - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The Kid's Inpatient Database (KID)is produced every 3 years and is a unique and powerful nationwide database of hospital stays for children. It is a sample of pediatric discharges (age 20 or younger at admission) from community, non-rehabilitation hospitals from States participating in HCUP. The KID is the only dataset on hospital use, outcomes, and charges designed to study children's use of hospital services in the United States.

• American Fact Finder - (U.S. Census Bureau)  - An interactive database that is searchable for data from multiple data sources

• CDC Wonder - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research. Access statistical research data published by CDC; Public-use data sets about deaths, cancer incidence, HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, vaccinations, births, census data and many other topics are available for query.

• CMS Chart Series - (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))  - Data on spending, operations, and quality of care.

• CMS:Data and Systems - (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))  - Link to the CMS webpage with hyperlinks to CMS data and systems, files for order, statistics, trends, and reports, research, and monitoring programs.

• Comprehensive Epidemiologic Data Resource - (Department of Energy (DOE) U.S.)  - CEDR is a public-use repository of data from occupational and environmental health studies of workers at DOE facilities and nearby community residents.

• Distributed Network for Ambulatory Research in Therapeutics - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The Distributed Ambulatory Research in Therapeutics Network (DARTNet) is a federated network of electronic health databases created in 2008.

• Federal Employees Health Plan (FEHP) Disparity Index - (Indian Health Service (IHS))  - An actuarial benchmark of health coverage for American Indians and Alaskan Natives that is equivalent to benefits in the Federal Employees Health Plan.

• FedStats - Provides links to Federal data access tools as well as statistics from more than 100 agencies.

• Gateway to Data and Statistics - (HHS Data Council, Department of Health and Human Services)  - This web-based tool brings together key health and human services data and statistics

• Geographic Information Systems - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Serves as a central source of information about GIS and related resources. It consists primarily of links to other relevant sites.

• Health Data Interactive - (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC (NCHS))  - Tables with national health statistics for infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Tables can be customized by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and geographic location to explore different trends and patterns.

• Health Economics Resource Center - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - National center located in Menlo Park, CA that assists VA researchers in assessing the cost-effectiveness of medical care, evaluating the efficiency of VA programs and providers, and conducting high-quality health economics research. Provides aggregate data and findings about veterans. This site includes socio-economic data, the demographic characteristics of veterans, the geographical distribution of the veteran population, and other statistical data and information by veteran program.

• Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - HCUP is a family of health care databases and related products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership. HCUP produces powerful, comprehensive, health care data that can be used to identify, track, and analyze national, regional, and state trends in health care utilization, access, charges, quality, and outcomes. The HCUP databases and related tools have been used in more than 900 peer-reviewed publications and also support Congressionally-mandated studies.

• Hospital Compare - (Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) U.S.)  - Find information on how well hospitals care for patients with certain medical conditions or surgical procedures, and results from a survey of patients about the quality of care they received during a recent hospital stay.

• HRSA Geospatial Data Warehouse - (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))  - The Geospatial Data Warehouse and its associated applications provides access to information about HRSA programs and related health resources including data on health professional shortage areas, medically underserved areas, and primary care service areas.

• Medicare Coverage Database - (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))  - The Medicare Coverage Database (MCD) contains all National Coverage Determinations (NCDs) and Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), local policy articles, and proposed NCD decisions. The database also includes several other types of national coverage policy related documents, including national coverage analyses (NCAs), coding analyses for labs (CALs), Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MedCAC) proceedings, and Medicare coverage guidance documents.

• National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA) - (National Institute on Aging (NIA))  - NACDA acquires and preserves data relevant to gerontological research. Housed within ICPSR it is the largest library of electronic data on aging in the United States.

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - The Nation's principal health statistics agency. Looks at outcomes, access, literature synthesis, public reporting, underserved, quality, data collection methods, etc. Access data, reports, surveys, and tools.

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Data Warehouse - (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC (NCHS))  - Nation's principal health statistics agency; compiles statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health of people.

• National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Online query system that allows you to access national and state data on the quality of, and access to, health care from scientifically credible measures and data sources.

• National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - NHSN is a secure, internet-based surveillance system that integrates patient and healthcare personnel safety surveillance systems. The Patient Safety Component of NHSN allows entry of event and denominator data for both device-associated and procedure-associated events as well as data entry for microbiology susceptibility and antimicrobial use. The data analysis features of NHSN range from rate tables and graphs to statistical analysis that compares the healthcare facility's rates with national performance measures.

• National Quality Measures Clearinghouse - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - A public repository for evidence-based quality measures and measure sets.

• National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) - (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA))  - Searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders

• National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery (NSAS) Public Use Data Set - (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC (NCHS))  - Download revised 2006 data.

• Nationwide Emergency Department Sample - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) is one in a family of databases and software tools developed as part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), a Federal-State-Industry partnership sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. HCUP data inform decision-making at the national, State, and community levels.

• Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) is a set of longitudinal hospital inpatient databases included in the HCUP family. These databases are created by AHRQ through a Federal-State-Industry partnership.

• NHDRnet Online Query System - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Access national data for quality of health care, access to health care, or for priority populations (race, ethnicity, income, or education) derived from the National Healthcare Disparities Report (NHDR).

• NIMH Limited Access Data Sets - (National Institute of Mental Health, NIH (NIMH))  - Web page provides information on limited access data sets and how to gain access to them.

• Profiles of America - (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA))  - This Internet-based information system allows one to manipulate various socioeconomic data series used in many Economic Resource Service (ERS) products. Use the interactive tools to create and manipulate charts, maps, and tables—including multidimensional tables, such as poverty rates by metro/nonmetro status.

• SAMHSA Office of Applied Studies (OAS) Data - Access to data, reports and statistics produced by OAS. Data can be analyzed online.

• Scientific Data, Surveillance, & Injury Statistics - (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC)  - Descriptions and links to interactive statistics and mapping systems including WISQUARS ((Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) the interactive, online database that provides customized injury-related mortality data and nonfatal injury data and Injury Maps an interactive mapping system.

• SEER-Medicare Linked Database - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - SEER-Medicare data reflect the linkage of two large population-based sources of data that provide detailed information about elderly persons with cancer. The data can be used for an array of epidemiological and health services research.

• Social Security Administration Data - The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics under the Deputy Commissioner of Retirement and Disability Policy is the agency's source for statistics on the impact and operations of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs and on the earnings of the working and beneficiary populations. Download data sets.

• Social Security Statistical Tables - (Office of the Chief Actuary, U.S. Social Security Administration)  - Links to statistical tables, i.e., old-age and survivors insurance trust fund.

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) - (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA))  - Data sets on substance abuse and mental health.

• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Health Program Analysis & Evaluation (HPA&E) Division - HPA&E research administrators work with those requesting data to perform analyses, studies, surveys or other types of health services investigations (operational or research oriented). Link to information on data requests, surveys, and data policies.

• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service: Data and Statistics - Access data on farm and rural households, commodity markets, food marketing, agricultural trade, diet and health, food safety, food and nutrition assistance programs, natural resources and the environment, and the rural economy.

• VA Data Sources - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - Links to data sources and data sets within the VA. Includes instructions on how to request permission to access VA data.

• Women's Health USA 2008 - (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))  - The data book was developed by HRSA to provide readers with an easy-to-use collection of current and historical data on some of the most pressing health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities.

• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Monitors priority health-risk behaviors and the prevalence of obesity and asthma among youth and young adults. The YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.

• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors priority health-risk behaviors and the prevalence of obesity and asthma among youth and young adults.

Other (Non-Federal)

• American Hospital Association Healthcare Statistics and Market Research Data - (American Hospital Association (AHA))  - Provides information about American Hospital Association data resources.

• Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care: Regional Disparity in Medicare Spending - Interactive data map showing average same-sex race adjusted Medicare spending per enrollee by state and by hospital referral regions for 1992 and 2006 and the average annual growth rate for the period 1992 to 2006.

• Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) - (Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan (ISR))  - Maintains and provides access to a vast archive of social science data for research; supplies data files for use with statistical software, such as SAS, SPSS, and Stata.

• Medical Cost Reference Guide - The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association fourth annual Medical Cost Reference Guide: Facts and Trends to Support Knowledge-Driven Solutions. The guide provides information on trends in the healthcare industry from nationally recognized data sources.

• Milliman Medical Index - (Milliman US)  - The fifth annual Milliman Medical Index™ (MMI™) measures average annual medical spending for a typical American family of four covered by an employer-sponsored preferred provider organization (PPO) program. The MMI provides a consistent benchmark of healthcare benefit costs by annually assessing the changes in those costs over the most recent five-year period.

• QOLID - Quality of Life Instruments Database - (Mapi Research Institute)  - Provides limited free access to information on Quality of Life (QOL) and Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) instruments. In-depth information is available on a paid subscription basis.

State Data Repositories/Data Sets

• Cecil G. SHEPS Center for Health Services Research - Links to health care related data on North Carolina residents.

• Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Legislative Database - (Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, CDC (DHDSP))  - Online database of state heart disease and stroke prevention policies and a mapping application to map state policies based on selected criteria.

• Massachusetts Emergency Department Database - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - The Commonwealth of Massachusetts first required the collection of data from the state's seventy-seven hospital emergency departments in 2000. The Emergency Department database includes data elements that parallel those available for the Inpatient Database, such as demographic and diagnosis elements.

• Massachusetts Inpatient Database - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Starting from data obtained from the Massachusetts Division of Healthcare Finance and Policy, the Consortium enhances Massachusetts hospital inpatient data into a population-based file ensuring 100% resident-based provider-specific information.

• Massachusetts Outpatient Observation Stays - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - The Massachusetts Outpatient Observation Database includes stays for patients who are monitored for a short period at a hospital but not officially admitted.

• Minnesota Data Collection and Sources - (Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA))  - Database of nearly 5 million records dating back to 1980 for Twin Cities metropolitan hospitals.

• North Carolina Health Professions Data System - (Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research)  - Collects and disseminates timely and reliable data on selected licensed health professionals in North Carolina.

• North Carolina Rural Health Policy Cartographic Archive - (Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research)  - Maps on all aspects of rural health care.

• Rhode Island Office of Health Statistics - (Rhode Island Department of Health USA)  - This office collects and analyzes health data on the Rhode Island population.

• State Cancer Legislative Database (SCLD) Program - A specialized database produced by the National Cancer Institute, which provides synthesized information relating to developments in state cancer prevention and control legislation and related policy activities.

• State Cancer Profiles - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Descriptive cancer statistics to help prioritize cancer control efforts. The focus is on cancer sites for which there are known, preventable risk factors or screening tests for early detection and effective treatment options.

• State Data Centers - (Bureau of the Census U.S.)  - The State Data Centers (SDCs) are official sources of demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the Census Bureau. The SDC program between the states and the Census Bureau was created to make data available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries, and regional and local governments.

• State Data Resources - (Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) U.S.)  - Links to individual state health data sources.

• State Inpatient Databases (SID) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Contains the universe of the inpatient discharge abstracts in participating States, translated into a uniform format to facilitate multi-State comparisons and analyses.

• Statistics and Data - New York Department of Health - Variety of statistics from the NY Department of Health.

• Virginia Health Information (VHI) - (Virginia Health Information (VHI) USA)  - A nonprofit that provides Virginia-centered health information. Qualifying organizations can license data files (e.g., Virginia hospital discharge data, Annual Licensure Survey Data from hospitals, nursing facilities and ambulatory surgical centers) for research-specific projects or for general public use.

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Health Statistics

• 2008 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Disability Insurance Trust Funds - (Social Security Administration (SSA))  - The report presents the current and projected future financial status of the trust funds. Older reports can be accessed as well by typing in year and report title in the search box on the SSA website.

• 2009 North Carolina Women's Health Report Card - (Center for Women's Health Research at UNC US)  - Download current and past report cards.

• AgingStats - (Administration on Aging (AOA) U.S.)  - Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-related statistics. Provides links to Excel charts, reports, presentations and papers.

• Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC): Data & Statistics - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides information on the variables of major interest to the BCSC, such as demographic data and health history of women who come to participating radiology facilities for mammograms. Also provided are statistics that provide an overview of the data collected.

• Cancer statistics - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides cancer statistics on incidence and survival data from 14 population-based cancer registries and three supplemental registries covering approximately 26 percent of the US population.

• CMS:Data and Systems - (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))  - Link to the CMS webpage with hyperlinks to CMS data and systems, files for order, statistics, trends, and reports, research, and monitoring programs.

• Green Book, 2004 - (U.S. House of Representatives)  - The House Ways and Means Committee Green Book, WMCP:108-6, provides program descriptions and historical data on a wide variety of social and economic topics, including Social Security, employment, earnings, welfare, child support, health insurance, the elderly, families with children, poverty and taxation. Links to past Green Books can be found here as well.

• Health Data Interactive - (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC (NCHS))  - Tables with national health statistics for infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. Tables can be customized by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and geographic location to explore different trends and patterns.

• Kaiser Family Foundation's State Health Facts Online - Contains the latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation.

• Medicare and Health Care Chart Book, May 17, 1999 - (U.S. House of Representatives)  - (item WMCP: 106-4) a 215-page statistical guide to Medicare, Medicare managed care, insurance coverage, and overall healthcare spending figures

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - The Nation's principal health statistics agency. Looks at outcomes, access, literature synthesis, public reporting, underserved, quality, data collection methods, etc. Access data, reports, surveys, and tools.

• National Center for Health Statistics Health E Stats - (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC (NCHS))  - Health statistics, links to publications, working papers, and electronic medical record use.

• NCI Cancer Mortality Maps & Graphs - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides interactive maps, graphs (accessible to the blind and visually-impaired), text, tables and figures showing geographic patterns and time trends of cancer death rates for the time period 1950-1994 for more than 40 cancers

• Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study (PCOS) - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - PCOS is the first population-based evaluation of health-related quality-of-life issues for prostate cancer patients conducted on a multi-regional scale. Information about the patient population, data collection, and related research projects and publications is included.

• Quick Health Data Online - (Office on Women's Health, HHS (OWH))  - National, regional, state and county data are available by gender, race, ethnicity, and age. You can make your own custom tables, graphs, and maps.

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Statistics - (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA))  - The latest national data on alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use and dependence, and State treatment planning areas. Also included are data on mental health topics including depression, serious psychological distress, and suicidal thoughts and attempts.

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International

• Canadian Statistics - (Statistics Canada)  - Summary tables are organized by Subject including Health, Population and Demography and Social Conditions.

• European Data Center for Work and Welfare(WOWE): Indicators & Statistics - Links to a listing of relevant European and international comparative data banks and their data/services on health and safety.

• GlobalHealthFacts.org - (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF))  - Global data on HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and other key health and socio-economic indicators. The data are displayed in tables, charts, and color-coded maps and can be downloaded for custom analyses.

• Human Development Report (United Nations) - (United Nations)  - The Human Development Report (HDR) presents a wealth of statistical information on different aspects of human development. Links to other background materials, data resources and on-going debates and discussions on human development statistics.

• Manitoba Centre for Health Policy - The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy(MCHP) is a research unit within the Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba (Canada) MCHP researchers benefit from collaboration with peers across Canada, the United States and Europe.

• Social Determinants of Health - (World Health Organization (WHO))  - The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, including the health system. These circumstances are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels, which are themselves influenced by policy choices. The social determinants of health are mostly responsible for health inequities - the unfair and avoidable differences in health status seen within and between countries.

• Social Science Data Archives - Europe - (Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA))  - List of data archives in Europe. Provides access to 25,000 data collections, delivering over 70,000 data collections per annum and acquiring a further 1,000 data collections each year.

• Statistical Agencies (International) - (Bureau of the Census U.S.)  - Links to interational statistical agencies.

• United Nations Statistics Division (UN Data) - UN Data compiles and disseminates global statistical information, develops standards and norms for statistical activities, and supports countries' efforts to strengthen their national statistical systems.

• WHOSIS Statistical Information System - (World Health Organization (WHO))  - An interactive database bringing together core health statistics for the 193 WHO Member States. It comprises more than 70 indicators, which can be accessed by way of a quick search, by major categories, or through user-defined tables.

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Surveys and Tools

Federal and Miscellaneous Surveys and Tools

• Access Tools - (Bureau of the Census U.S.)  - U.S. Census Bureau — Links to data access tools from the U.S. Census Bureau (e.g., American Fact Finder, Data Ferrett, Censtats, etc.)

• Agency for Health Care Research (AHRQ), Quality Child Health Toolbox - This online resource is intended to help state and local policymakers and program directors and staff answer questions about measuring health care performance in child health programs.

• American Fact Finder - (U.S. Census Bureau)  - An interactive database that is searchable for data from multiple data sources

• American Indian/Alaska Native Center - (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS))  - Links to data tools within CMS that focus on American Indians and Alaskan Natives.

• Basis-32 - (Medical Outcomes Trust)  - This instrument is a 32-item self-administered questionnaire.

• Bureau of the Census (U.S.), Health Insurance - The Census Bureau collects health insurance data from two national surveys:(1) The Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS)and (2) Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP).

• CAHPS® Hospital Survey (H-CAHPS) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Public-private initiative to develop standardized surveys of patients' experiences with ambulatory and facility-level care.

• Center for Studying Health System Change - The CTS includes periodic national surveys of households and physicians. For the first four rounds, the survey samples were concentrated in 60 communities that were randomly selected to provide a representative profile of change across the U.S. Among these communities, are 48 "large" metropolitan areas (with populations greater than 200,000), from which 12 communities were randomly selected to be studied in depth. Those 12 communities have larger survey samples and also comprise the communities used for the site visits. The latest rounds of the physician and household surveys, which are currently underway, are nationally representative but will not support community-level analyses.

• Child and Adolescent Health - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Tools, resources, and research findings.

• Child Health Toolbox - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - An online resource that helps measure the quality of child health care programs and offers tips and tools for evaluating health care service programs for children.

• Children of Immigrants Data Tool - (Urban Institute (UI))  - Generate charts on the characteristics of children, age 0 to 17, for the United States and for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data come from the 2005 and 2006 American Community Survey.

• Data Methods Toolkit - (Urban Institute (UI))  - Provides information on qualitative methods which are most often used in implementation research and quantitative methods most often used in impact evaluation

• EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey - (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))  - The first EBRI/Commonwealth Fund Consumerism in Health Care Survey was conducted to provide reliable national data on the growth of high deductible plans and their impact on the behavior and attitudes of health care consumers.

• Environmental Scan of Instruments to Inform Consumer Choice in Assisted Living Facilities - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Compiled by Westat Inc., this report examines the questionnaires, surveys, and other instruments currently in use to assess the services and quality of care in assisted living facilities across the United States. These tools include consumer-reported instruments, expert observational instruments, and provider-reported tools that evaluate services offered, the physical and cultural environments, staff issues, activities, social support, and contractual issues.

• FedStats - Provides links to Federal data access tools as well as statistics from more than 100 agencies.

• Gateway to Data and Statistics - (HHS Data Council, Department of Health and Human Services)  - This web-based tool brings together key health and human services data and statistics

• GovTrack - An independent tool to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress.

• HCUPnet - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - A free, on-line query system based on Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data - provides access to health statistics and information on hospital stays at the National, regional, and State level.

• Health and Retirement Study (HRS) - (National Institute on Aging (NIA))  - The University of Michigan HRS surveys more than 22,000 Americans over the age of 50 every two years. A Longitudinal Study of Health, Retirement, and Aging, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.

• The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) - (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA))  - Tool used by more than 90 percent of America's health plans to measure performance on important dimensions of care and service.

• Health Services & Economics Survey Instruments - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides access to several survey instruments for studies related to health services and economics, as well as links to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS).

• Health Services and Sciences Research Resources(HSRR) - (National Library of Medicine (NLM) U.S.)  - Information about research datasets and instruments used in health services research

• HRET Disparities Toolkit - (Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET))  - Web-based tool that provides hospitals, health systems, clinics, and health plans information and resources for systematically collecting race, ethnicity, and primary language data from patients.

• Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - A series of national probability surveys conducted by AHRQ on the financing and utilization of medical care in the United States.

• MEPSnet Query Tools - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Provides easy access to Medical Expenditure Survey Panel statistics on health care use, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage.

• National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Summary of Surveys and Data Systems - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Links to informations sheets on all of NCHS' survyes and data systems.

• National Center for Health Statistics Data Access Tools - Interactive tools and data.

• National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Cancer Control Module - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides information about NHIS, a nationwide survey of about 36,000 households in the U.S. and a principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

• National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) - (American College of Surgeons (ACS))  - Six years of private sector experience has demonstrated the effectiveness of the NSQIP as a quality improvement tool and as a source of new clinical knowledge for hospitals outside the VA system. The ACS NSQIP is available to all private sector hospitals that meet the minimum participation requirements, complete a hospital agreement, and pay an annual fee of $35,000.

• National Survey of Children's Health and National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs - (Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA))  - Access interactive, online access national and state data from these two surveys. View state-specific profiles.

• National Survey of Colorectal Cancer Screening Practices - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides information about the National Survey of Colorectal Cancer Sreening Practices and its methodology, as well an analysis of the results.

• National Survey on Drug Use & Health - (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA))  - Links to the various surveys and data collected by the Office of Applied Studies via ther National Survey on Drug Use & Health.

• Patterns of Care/Quality of Care Studies - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Describes patterns of care/quality of care studies, as well as the uses of the data.

• ProClarity Software - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - A brief description of using ProClarity software for accessing the Veterans Health Administration Financial and Clinical Data Mart (FCDM).

• RAND COMPARE - COMPARE is a transparent, evidence-based approach to providing information and tools to help policymakers, the media, and other interested parties understand, design, and evaluate health policies.

• ResDAC (Research Data Assistance Center) - (University of Minnesota)  - A CMS contractor that provides free assistance to academic, government and non-profit researchers interested in using Medicare and/or Medicaid data for their research. ResDAC is staffed by a consortium of epidemiologists, public health specialists, health services researchers, biostatisticians, and health informatics specialists from the University of Minnesota.

• SF 36 Health Survey - (Medical Outcomes Trust)  - Link to information on the SF-36, a multi-purpose, short-form health survey instrument with 36 questions. It yields an 8-scale profile of functional health and well-being scores as well as psychometrically-based physical and mental health summary measures and a preference-based health utility index. It is a generic measure, as opposed to one that targets a specific age, disease, or treatment group.

• Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER) - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - The SEER Program is a source of information on cancer incidence and survival in the United States. It also includes a section on Cancer Rates and Risk Factors, and information on statistics, databases, data collection tools, and recent reports.

• U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), Military Health System, Health Program Analysis & Survey Division - Links to various surveys conducted by the Health Program Analysis & Survey Division.

• VA Information Resource Center - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - VIReC develops and disseminates knowledge about databases of interest to VA researchers; provides service to researchers who require information about data resources specific to their research; and represents interests of researchers regarding VA databases and information systems.

• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Monitors priority health-risk behaviors and the prevalence of obesity and asthma among youth and young adults. The YRBSS includes a national school-based survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state, territorial, tribal, and local surveys conducted by state, territorial, and local education and health agencies and tribal governments.

State Surveys and Tools

• California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Provides public health information for California's diverse population. Results on a variety of health topics are produced for the entire state and most counties.

• Data Locator - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Provides a categorized collection of mostly free or inexpensive resources that will answer specific data, i.e. numerical, questions.

• Florida HealthFinder - (State of Florida USA)  - A web-based tool which allows easy access to comprehensive Florida health care information.

• Medication Error Quality Initiative - (Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research)  - Mandatory annual reporting of all medication errors observed in nursing homes in the State of North Carolina.

• Patient Safety Toolbox for States - (National Academy for State Health Policy USA)  - This electronic toolbox is intended to provide states with tools they can use or modify as they develop or improve adverse event reporting systems. The toolbox includes information (policies, practices, forms, reports, methods, and contracts) related to states' reporting systems, links to other Web resources, and fast facts and issues related to patient safety.

• Region IV Network for Data Management and Utilization - (Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research)  - Women and infant health indicators for planning and assessment.

• State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) - (University of Minnesota)  - Provides a focal point for coordination of state survey activities on the uninsured (funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health).

• Survey of School-Based Health Center initiatives: Number of Centers and State Financing, 1999-2000 - The 2002 State Survey of School-Based Health Center Initiatives was developed and conducted by The Center for Health & Health Care in Schools. From July to October 2002, the Center surveyed all fifty states and the District of Columbia.The survey instrument consisted of 31 questions organized into 10 categories.

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