The Core aims to meet an unmet need for access to large national and regional healthcare claims and administrative databases for medical and health services research. These include national and state-level claims data for patients covered by specific insurance (commercial, Medicare or Medicaid) as well as those with no insurance. Many interested researchers may be discouraged by the cost and administrative burden in acquiring such data or the technical know-how in developing study designs and data analytics.
With support from Wake Forest Clinical and Translational Science Institute, our goal is to meet this need by providing resources in quantitative health services research for fellows, faculty and researchers across Wake Forest School of Medicine. Based in the Program for Health Services Research in the Division of Public Health Sciences, the Core consists of research faculty, data analysts and databases. The research faculty brings expertise in health services research, health economics, policy impact evaluation, cost evaluation and health disparities.
Databases Available
- The Core can provide access to a readily available collection of databases, including IBM Marketscan Commercial Claims, Medicare Fee for Service Claims and All Payer Inpatient and Emergency Department administrative discharge records.
- While access to some databases require administrative approvals, several databases can be accessed quickly with little or no administrative burden.
- The Core can provide guidance and assist with the acquisition of data for new projects.
Learn more about Available Databases
| Database | Available Years | Sample/Size |
|---|---|---|
| MarketScan | 2017-2022 | National/>273 million unique pts. |
| HCUP | ||
| Kid’s Inpatient Data (KID) | 2016 and 2019 | National/3m hospital stays per yr. |
| Nationwide Ambulatory Surgery Sample (NASS) | 2016-2020 | National/Largest all-payer ambulatory surgery database in the United States |
| Nationwide Emergency Department Sample (NEDS) | 2016-2020 | National |
| Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) | 2016-2020 | National/Unweighted, it contains data from around 7 million hospital stays each year |
| Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD) | 2016-2020 | National |
| State Inpatient Database (SID) | 2010 - 2019 | State specific/21 states |
| State Emergency Department (SED) | 2010 - 2019 | State specific/15 states |
| CMS | ||
| Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) | 2000 - 2013 and 2015 - 2021 | National/25k per yr. |
| Medicare Fee for Service Claims | 2019 - 2021 | National |
Services Provided
- With ready access to a rich collection of claims data at little or no cost, our aim is to make use of such data feasible for small and pilot projects with a short timeline.
- The Core can assist in developing preliminary evidence in preparation for grant applications.
- The Core can provide consultative support and assistance with identifying and acquiring claims and administrative data. The core staff can assist with grant writing and acquisition of data on funded grants.
- HSR Core faculty has expertise in health economics, health policy and cost evaluation, and econometric modeling, and can assist in identifying expertise and resources not locally available.
- The Core faculty can collaborate in the development and implementation of grant-funded studies. We anticipate such studies to take the form of Core members serving as co-investigators.
Fees and Costs
- Consultations are free and we can clarify the fees and costs specific to each project.
- We do not charge fees for access to data. However, some databases require staff time for obtaining access to new users (e.g., for amendment of data use agreement); the user will have to pay for the staff time.
- As all data are HIPAA protected, access to data and statistical software are provided on an institutional IT server. We anticipate that most studies will not incur any IT-related charges. However, depending on special storage and software needs, there may be charges.
- Users will be charged for faculty and staff time for assistance with data processing, study design, measurement development and statistical analyses.
For more details please refer to the HSR Core Frequently Asked Questions.
Publication Highlights
- Carey K, Lin MY. Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement: Hospital Financial Performance and Safety-Net Status. Health Services Research, 2023;58(1):101-106
- Lin MY, Liu T, Gastsonis C, Sicks JD, Shih S, Carlos RC, Gareen IF. Utilization of Diagnostic Procedures After Lung Cancer Screening in the National Lung Screening Trial. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 2023 Oct;20(10):1022-1030
- Lin MY, Hanchate AD, Frakt AB, Burgess JF, Jr., Carey K. Association Between Physician-Hospital Integration and Inpatient Care Delivery in Accountable Care Organizations: an Instrumental Variable Analysis. Health Services Research. 2024; 1-11.
- Duchesneau ED, Klepin HD, Hanchate AD, Lin MY, Bluethmann SM. Big Data for Geriatric Oncology Research. North Carolina Medical Journal. 2024;85(1). doi:10.18043/001c.91420
- Hanchate AD, Abdelfattah L, Lin MY, Lasser KE, Paasche-Orlow MK. Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion was Associated With Reductions in the Proportion of Hospitalizations That are Potentially Preventable Among Hispanic and White Adults. Med Care. 2023 Aug 10. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001902. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37582292.
- Hanchate AD, Abdelfattah L, Palakshappa D, Montez KG, Crotts C, Zimmer RP. North Carolina's Medicaid Transformation: the Early Enrollee Experience. J Gen Intern Med. 2023 Jul 24. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08319-9. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37488369
- Carmichael SP 2nd, Kline DM, Mowery NT, Miller PR 3rd, Meredith JW, Hanchate AD. Geographic Variation in Operative Management of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction. J Surg Res. 2023 Jun;286:57-64. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2022.12.040. Epub 2023 Feb 6. PMID: 36753950; PMCID: PMC10034859
- Hanchate AD, Strackman BW, Lin M, Paasche-Orlow MK, Lasser KE, Cole MB. Medicaid expansion associated with no change in emergency department use across racial and ethnic groups. Health Serv Res. 2023 May 18. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14171. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37202905.
- Schulson L, Lin MY, Paasche-Orlow MK, Hanchate AD. Limited English Proficient Patient Visits and Emergency Department Admission Rates for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in California: a retrospective cohort study. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2021
- Perkins RB, Legler A, Jansen E, Bernstein J, Joseph N, Eun TJ, Biancarelli DL, Schuch TJ, Leschly K, Fenton A, Adams B, Clark JA, Drainoni ML, Hanchate AD. Long-term effectiveness of a multi-level intervention to improve HPV vaccination rates. Pediatrics. 2020.
- Carey K, Morgan JR, Lin MY, Kain MS, Creevy WR. Patient Outcomes Following Total Joint Replacement Surgery: A Comparison of Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgery Centers. J Arthroplasty. 2020;35(1):7-11.
- Hanchate AD, Baker WE, Paasche-Orlow MK, Feldman J. Ambulance Diversion and ED Destination by Race/Ethnicity: Evaluation of Massachusetts' Ambulance Diversion Ban. BMC Health Services Research. 2022
- Bancks MP, Lin M, Bertoni A, Futrell WM, Liu Z, Ostasiewski B, Wells BJ, Hanchate AD. Impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic on diabetes care among a North Carolina patient population. Clinical Diabetes. 2022
- Hanchate AD, Qi D, Stopyra J, Paasche-Orlow MK, Baker WE, Feldman J. Potential Bypassing of Nearest ED by Emergency Medical Service Transports. Health Services Research. 2022 Apr; 57(2):300-310. PMID: 34723392.
- Hanchate AD, Qi D, Paasche-Orlow MK, Lasser KE, Liu Z, Lin M, Lewis KH. ACA Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion and Elective Bariatric Surgery Use. JAMA Health Forum 2021.
- Lin MY, Mishra G, Ellison J, Osei-Poku G, Prentice JC. Differences in patient outcomes after outpatient GI endoscopy across settings: a statewide matched cohort study. Gastrointest Endosc. 2022 Jun;95(6):1088-1097.e17
- Lin MY, Kim J, Sheldrick RC, Bair-Merritt MH, Durham MP, Feinberg E, Cole MB. Five-Year Trends in Pediatric Mental Health Emergency Department Visits in Massachusetts: A Population-Based Cohort Study. J Pediatr. 2022 Jul;246:199-206.e17