National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)

Making Informed Decisions: Assessing the Strengths and Weaknesses of Study Designs and Analytic Methods for Comparative Effectiveness Research - This publication outlines each approach as well as its advantages and disadvantages so researchers can more easily select the most appropriate design to answer specific research questions.
Mammography Quality Standards Act and Program - Information for mammography facility personnel, inspectors, and consumers about the implementation of the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 (MQSA). The FDA adminsters several quality and standards activities. This is one example.
Maryland Health Care Commission - Independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs,promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability,cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers and the public.
Maternal and Child Health Bureau - The Children's Bureau was established in 1912. In 1935, the U.S. Congress enacted Title V of the Social Security Act, which authorized the Maternal and Child Health Services programs and provided a foundation and structure for assuring the health of American mothers and children.
Mathematica - Health Care Reform - Access research and data on health care reform.
Mathematica - Quality and Efficiency Measures - Mathematica develops, uses, and reports on measurement tools essential to understanding the performance of health care providers and organizations.
Mathematica - State Health Policy - Access research on state health policy questions such as "What are the implications of state health insurance expansions and reforms? How can states and localities help to ensure health care coverage for children?"
Mathematica Health Policy Research - Access data, reports, and articles from Mathematica's researchers on people who lack health insurance, efficient operation of government health insurance programs, effective care delivery, chronic disease and long-term care, health care financing, and public health.
Mathematica Policy Research - Implementation Science - Mathematica's Head Start Oral Health Initiative project is using Implementation Science and has produced several reports, for example: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/OHI_Techrpt.pdf. Various Mathematica researchers have written pieces on Implementation Sciences. For additional information, checkout Mathematica's New & Noteworthy newsletter.
Mathematica's Briefs on Health Care Reform - This series is intended to help policymakers understand the research base for the critical choices they will make in implementing the federal health reform law.
Measuring Health Disparities - This interactive course focuses on some basic issues for public health practice -- how to understand, define and measure health disparity. This course examines the language of health disparity to come to some common understanding of what that term means, explains key measures of health disparity and shows how to calculate them. This computer-based course provides a durable tool that is useful to daily activities in the practice of public health.
Mechanism for Time-Sensitive Drug Abuse Research (R01) - This FOA responds to the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Health Services Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Mechanisms, Measurement, and Management of Pain in Aging: from Molecular to Clinical (R01)
Mechanisms, Measurement, and Management of Pain in Aging: from Molecular to Clinical (R03)
Mechanisms, Measurement, and Management of Pain in Aging: from Molecular to Clinical (R21)
Medicaid Benefits Online Database Updated To Include 2010 Data For All 50 States
Medicaid, CHIPS, and Next Steps: View Video from 11/13/09 Briefing - The Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation co-sponsored this briefing to examine the factors which influence children's coverage. Questions addressed included: What are the trends in private sector coverage? How well are the enrollment simplification and outreach tools that are included in this year's CHIP reauthorization helping to reach those children who are eligible but unenrolled? How much does a child's coverage depend on where he or she lives?
Medicaid.gov - This website is devoted to the policies - and the people - of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Medical Care - official journal of the Medical Care Section of the American Public Health Association; publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Medical Care Research and Review - Formerly Medical Care Review, this journal has been a pioneering force in the area of health services research. Carries critical reviews of literature on organizational structure, economics, and the financing of health and medical care systems. Has expanded to reflect the growth of the field and the increasing importance of health services research. Published by Sage.
Medical Decision Making - Medical Decision Making (MDM), the official journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making, publishes articles designed to improve the health and clinical care of individuals and to assist with health policy development. Presenting theoretical, statistical, and modeling methods from a variety of disciplines, including decision psychology, health economics, clinical epidemiology, and evidence synthesis, the journal promotes understanding of human decision-making processes so that individuals can make more informed and satisfying choices regarding their health.
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) - The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is a set of large-scale surveys of families and individuals, their medical providers, and employers across the United States. MEPS is the most complete source of data on the cost and use of health care and health insurance coverage.
Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Statistical Briefs - MEPS Statistical Briefs are easy-to-read, quick graphical summaries of MEPS data very much like MEPS Highlights. These statistical brief are only available on the MEPS website.
Medical Informatics Section, Medical Librarians Association (MLA) - The Medical Informatics Section, established in 1988, provides a forum for education and communication among medical librarians, health professionals and other information sciences professionals. Access blogs, reports, professional development resources, etc..
Medical Outcomes Trust - Not for profit organization dedicated to improving health and health care by promoting the science of outcomes measurement, and the development, evaluation, and distribution of standardized, high quality instruments that measure health and the outcomes of medical care.
Medical societies: Exclude cost analysis from outcomes research
Medical Technology and Practice Patterns Institute (MTPPI) - A nonprofit organization established in 1986 to conduct research on the clinical, economic, and social implications of new and emerging health care technologies.
Medicare Chartbook, 2010 - This chartbook provides the most recent and reliable data available about the Medicare program and the 47 million seniors and younger people with disabilities who get health insurance coverage through the program.
Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey (MCPSS) Public Report - The Medicare Contractor Provider Satisfaction Survey elicits information from a sample of hospitals, physicians, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, clinical laboratories, and other providers and suppliers. Medicare contractors perform a variety of services for providers including claims processing, provider inquiries, enrollment, education, appeals, audits, and medical review.
Medicare Coverage Database - 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.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) - Established in 1997 by the merger of the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC) and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC). Created by congressional mandate (Public Law 105-33), the 15-member nonpartisan Commission advises the Congress on Medicare Payment policies. MedPAC is also tasked with analyzing access to care, quality of care, and other issues affecting Medicare.
Medicare Quality Improvement Community (MedQIC) - Free on-line resource for quality improvement interventions and associated tools, toolkits, presentations, and links to other resources.
Medicare.gov - This link provides access to Quality Care Finder, a website which provides consumers with access to all of Medicare's Compare tools -- e.g., comparison information on hospitals, nursing homes and plans.
MedPAC appointments announced
Medpac Meetings - The Commission meets publicly in Washington, DC to discuss Medicare issues and policy questions and to develop and approve its reports and recommendations to the Congress. All meetings are held at the Ronald Reagan Building, The International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.
Mental Health, United States, 2010 - This document reports on the nation's mental health system across three themes: people; treatment facility characteristics; and payers and payment mechanisms. Includes state-level data, needs of children and military personnel, and services in non-traditional settings.
Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08)
Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award to Promote Diversity (K08)
Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (Parent K25)
Mentored Research Scientist Research Career Development Award (K01)
MEPSnet Query Tools - Provides easy access to Medical Expenditure Survey Panel statistics on health care use, expenditures, sources of payment, and insurance coverage.
Methodological Challenges in Comparative Effectiveness Research - Sponsored by AHRQ and NIH, the conference made use of case studies that pose difficult questions about what kinds of research, methods and analyses should be used to address limitations in current evidence for interventions and tests being examined by decision-making bodies.
Methodology And Measurement In The Behavioral And Social Sciences (R21)
Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews - Effectiveness and Comparative Effectiveness Reviews, systematic reviews of existing research on the effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and comparative harms of different health care interventions, are intended to provide relevant evidence to inform real-world health care decisions for patients, providers, and policymakers. In an effort to improve the transparency, consistency, and scientific rigor of the work of the Effective Health Care (EHC) Program, through a collaborative effort, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Scientific Resource Center, and the Evidence-based Practice Centers (EPCs) have developed a Methods Guide for Comparative Effectiveness Reviews. We intend that these documents will serve as a resource for our EPCs as well as for other investigators interested in conducting Comparative Effectiveness Reviews.
Michigan Department of Community Health: Statistics and Reports - The Department of Community Health is responsible for the collection of information on a range of health related issues. The information is collected to monitor the general health and well-being of Michigan's citizens. These data are useful for health program development, targeting and evaluation of program progress.
The Milbank Quarterly - Features peer-reviewed original research, policy review, and analysis, as well as commentary from academics, clinicians, and policymakers
Milliman Medical Index - 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.
Minnesota Data Collection and Sources - Database of nearly 5 million records dating back to 1980 for Twin Cities metropolitan hospitals.
Minnesota Health Reform Resources - Collection of resources that the State Health Access Data Assistance Center(SHADAC) has for the health reform initiatives in Minnesota, including the Minnesota state health reform of 2008, the implementation issues surrounding the federal health reform legislation of 2010, and related reports and presentations.
Minority Health Briefs, Webcasts, and Documents - A compilation of Kaiser Family Foundation reports and Web links on various aspects of minority health.
Mississippi Department of Human Services - Link to statistical reports.
MLA Educational Clearinghouse - List of courses, educational webcasts, and resources related to the use of health information resources.
MMRR - Medicare & Medicaid Research Review - Peer-reviewed, online journal reporting data and research that informs current and future directions of the Medicare, Medicaid, and Children's Health Insurance programs. The journal seeks to examine and evaluate health care coverage, quality and access to care for beneficiaries, and payment for health services.
Montana Health Data and Statistical Information - Link to data profiles and reports.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) - The agency's primary vehicle for scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations.
More Sharing Services Physical Health Problems Bring Mental Health Problems, Demand for Services
Moving from Policy to Practice in Research and Delivery, March 14-15, 2012, Washington, DC - This meeting will highlight the changing nature of evidence standards within the marketplace; specifically, the continued push for increased levels of evidence of comparative effectiveness applied within health technology assessments (HTAs). The goal of the meeting is to focus less on definitions and theoretic concepts, and more on the application of comparative effectiveness research (CER) and HTA within drug development and research planning.
Moving from Research to Large-Scale Change in Child Health Care - Dissemination, diffusion, and implementation (DD&I) science offers a model to identify innovations and understand the preferences, capabilities, and social networks likely to help facilitate adoption. This Commonwealth Fund-supported study outlines how the DD&I model can be used to enhance widespread adoption of innovative care practices that can improve the overall health of children. The authors detail the DD&I process from the initial exploration for practice change to planning, pilot implementation, and organization-wide implementation. The success and sustainability of each model requires constant surveillance and assessment to enable continuous improvement, the authors write.
Moving Research Into Practice: Lessons from the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's IDSRN Program - AHRQ's Integrated Delivery Systems Research Network (IDSRN) program was established to foster public-private collaboration between health services researchers and health care delivery systems. Its broad goal was to link researchers and delivery systems to encourage implementation of research into practice. The authors evaluated the program to address two primary questions: 1) How successful was IDSRN in generating research findings that could be applied in practice? and 2) What factors facilitate or impede such success?
Moving Science into Coverage: An Employer's Guide to Preventive Services - Developed in collaboration with the CDC and AHRQ, the Purchaser's Guide provides guidance for the selection of clinical preventive services shown to be effective by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, CDC and other authoritative organizations; translates clinical guidelines and medical evidence into lay terms; and provides large employers with the information they need to select, define, and implement comprehensive and structured preventive service benefits.
Multidisciplinary Studies of HIV/AIDS and Aging (R21)
Multilevel Interventions in Health Care: Building the Foundation for Future Research Goals, MAR 4-5, 2011 - The goal of the meeting is to expand the scientific base of multilevel interventions in cancer care as well as other health conditions. For the purposes of this meeting, a multilevel intervention addresses the health outcomes for patients, as well as at least two additional levels of contextual influence.
Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data, 2008 - This chartbook uses data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to compare the health care systems of nine countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Topics include: health care spending and health insurance coverage, hospitals, long-term care, physicians, pharmaceuticals, prevention, and mortality.
My Own Network, Powered by AHRQ (MONAHRQ) - MONAHRQ is a software product that enables organizations to input their own inpatient hospital administrative data and generate a data-driven Web site. MONAHRQ analyzes, summarizes, and presents information in a format ready for use by consumers and other decision-makers. Organizations host the new tool on their own Web server and populate it with their own hospital administrative data.

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