Issues Research, Inc., is a Colorado-based firm founded in 2000 by Douglas McCarthy to synthesize knowledge and advance understanding of important questions facing organizations and society. We bring curiosity and keen interest in a topic to understand stakeholders' needs and interests in an issue.
Our qualitative research, evaluation, and writing services distill diverse perspectives and facts into compelling insights that make sense of complexity. Whatever the topic, our goal remains the same: to provide timely, relevant, and actionable implications to inform policy and improve practice.
The findings of our work have been used by policymakers, decisionmakers, and change agents to benchmark performance, examine best practices and innovations, and help improve our nation's health care system.
Explore the links to the left to learn more.
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All-payer claims databases (APCDs) facilitate efforts to measure and improve the value of health care. By aggregating data on services paid for by public and private health plans, APCDs offer a broader perspective on cost and quality of care than any single entity can provide. According to the APCD Council, 21 states have created or are implementing APCDs while another 11 have indicated strong interest in doing so (map). In several states, stakeholders have voluntarily created APCDs.
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The Commonwealth Fund recently published a two-part report, authored by Douglas McCarthy, examining how eight states (map) established and use their APCDs to improve the affordability and quality of health care and the health of residents. State approaches varied from governmental initiatives and public-private partnerships to voluntary efforts.
Lessons learned include the following: successful implementation requires engaging with stakeholders; establishing salient use cases; determining a suitable governance structure; securing sustainable funding; setting realistic implementation goals and timeframes; and ensuring data quality and analytic rigor while protecting data privacy.
State officials and other health care stakeholders can use the reports to inform the design of statewide health information infrastructures and to improve existing databases.
State All-Payer Claims Databases: Tools for Improving Health Care Value
By Douglas McCarthy, Published by The Commonwealth Fund (December 2020)
Note: these links will open a new window and take you to the Commonwealth Fund Website.
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