HHS has posted a notice in the Federal Register describing its plans to create a database of health care claims information to facilitate comparative-effectiveness research, Modern Healthcare reports.
The database is one of several comparative-effectiveness research projects funded by the 2009 federal economic stimulus package.
HHS will oversee the database project, which aims to consolidate data on health care services financed by public and private health insurers.
According to HHS, the database will pull claims information from several sources to ensure that the data reflect a variety of patient populations, medical conditions, health care interventions and geographic areas.
HHS will accept public comment on the proposal for 60 days. The agency is requesting feedback on:
- The necessity and usefulness of the proposed data collection project;
- How to improve the quality and clarity of the data that will be collected; and
- Whether automated collection techniques or other IT tools could minimize the information collection burden (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 9/25).