The Executive Office of Health and Human Services today announced the launch of a new data warehouse for the RI Medicaid Program, designed to integrate data from multiple state agencies. The development of the new Health and Human Services' Data Warehouse was funded through a grant from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
"When making decisions that affect the health and safety of our populations, it is essential that state policy makers have the sound empirical data to conduct a thorough analysis. Under the aegis of the Global Medicaid Waiver, this data warehouse will allow administrators and decision makers access to vital data and statistics and give them the tools to make informed decisions. This data warehouse project is a huge step forward in coordinating care for Medicaid beneficiaries" said Gary D. Alexander, Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
With the Data Warehouse, the state will be able to store and integrate individual client data from multiple programs across state agencies. This will improve the State's ability to coordinate and manage health and human services programs, especially those funded by Medicaid. The Data Warehouse also allows for the creation of standard and ad hoc reports, detailing the utilization of services across programs and departments.
The Data Warehouse provides a common reporting infrastructure that incorporates flexibility in design that was not previously available. In addition, the Data Warehouse will enhance the state's ability to forecast expenses and predict potential high cost cases.
In addition to the Data Warehouse, a Community Supports Management System will also be implemented. This system will provide a much-needed upgrade to the administrative processes in the State's Long Term Care offices. The Community Supports System will transition the paper-based application and care management processes to a more automated, web-based system. This will enable data sharing between different entities that provide services to Rhode Islanders who receive publicly funded long-term care services. This new process will require less paper, fewer phone calls and reduced faxing, and result in better, timelier services to clients. State Long-Term Care staff will have the ability to send and receive information faster and have confidence that the data will be more accurate.
This project is part of the Global Medicaid Waiver and will enhance and support the reforms, goals and projects currently underway.
The Health and Human Services Data Warehouse and the Community Supports Management System were developed with the assistance of Hewlett Packard.