March newsletter: Data is a critical component to healthier Washington success

Washington State Health Care Authority sent this bulletin at 03/20/2017 04:31 PM PDT
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Better Health. Better Care. Lower Costs.

March 20, 2017

ACH data dashboards now available on Healthier Washington website

Data is essential to achieving the Triple Aim of better health, better care, and lower costs. Good data drives better quality and consistency of care. The Analytics, Interoperability and Measurement (AIM) team recently released a new revision of their data dashboard, which can be found on a new data dashboard web page.

The new page hca.wa.gov/datadashboard, provides a link to the dashboard, as well as links to other state data sources, including the Washington Health Alliance’s Community Checkup, Department of Social and Health Services’ Research and Data Analysis (RDA) and Department of Health’s Washington Tracking Network (WTN). Their feedback and review was an essential part of our process to create this resource.

With this page, any interested person or organization can find health data and tools that are pertinent to them and link them to data sources that advance their population health improvement goals.

The dashboard is a tool provided to all Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs), local health jurisdictions and other stakeholders, giving them access to interactive information for community assessments. The dashboards integrate data from multiple sources, including Medicaid claims and enrollment data, immunization data, and survey data.

We expect this web page to grow and develop over time as new data products and tools emerge, and we will continue to keep you engaged as we adjust and expand this resource.

A note from the Director

Dorothy

Over the past two years the Healthier Washington AIM team has been building a system that displays regularly refreshed information in health system performance, both in terms of health care quality and population health. This information dashboard and associated data links are available for ACHs and others seeking to assess health system performance in their regions.

This month we are pleased to extend access to this information to the general public. The Healthier Washington data dashboard offers insights on a wide range of health issues across the state. For example, you can use it to see the rate of child immunizations in a community, look at the number of people using tobacco products in a specific region, or see how many last year were treated with the flu.

Kudos to the work of HCA’s AIM team, working in collaboration with the Department of Social and Health Services, Department of Health, and Washington Health Alliance to present our most complete compendium to date of trusted performance measures.

Accountable Communities of Health

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On March 13, Accountable Communities of Health (ACHs) across the state came together for a two-day convening. These quarterly sessions provide opportunities for the ACHs to learn together, as well as collaborate on common goals and issues. During the session, leaders and representatives from the ACHs were able to learn:

  • About the certification process for readiness under the demonstration.
  • Regional Health Needs Inventory (RHNI) data resources and practical applications. 
  • Overview of the Delivery System Reform Incentive Pool, Technical Assistance (DSRIP TA) support team. 

Representatives from the ACHs were also able to collaborate on scenarios they could potentially experience as an ACH in order to initiate planning efforts for the demonstration. 

An Accountable Community of Health is a group of leaders from public and private sectors in a specific region with a common interest in improving population health.

Practice Transformation

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The Practice Transformation Support Hub continues to add curated resources and tools to its provider-centered web portal focused on practice transformation, behavioral health integration, and new payment models. The site includes access to key data for using the Population Health Planning Guide, as well as case studies and toolkits. Visit WAPortal.org.

The Practice Transformation Hub connects health care providers with tools, training, and hands-on technical assistance to address the needs of the whole person. 

Performance Measurement

The Washington State Health Alliance recently launched its new Community Checkup website. The new site includes enhancements and features to better serve health care purchasers, providers and consumers. These new features include interactive data visualization, data comparisons, and guides to help consumers choose health care facilities that best meet their needs. The site also shows detailed results on the quality of care and patient experience within Washington. Go to WAcommunitycheckup.org to view the new site.

Statewide measures provide a common way of tracking health and health care performance. This lets us show progress in improving the quality of care.