New Data Source on Hospital Use by California’s Medi-Cal Enrollees

New Data Source on Hospital Use by California’s Medi-Cal Enrollees

A project sponsored by The Kaiser Family Foundation has resulted in a new source of data that will enhance research on the Medi-Cal program, including the impact of Medi-Cal managed care. The project linked 2 datasets: the Patient Discharge Dataset containing hospital discharge information maintained by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), and a Medi-Cal dataset containing eligibility and health plan information maintained by the California Department of Health Services (DHS). Data from these linked datasets are available for all Medi-Cal hospital discharges from 1994 through 2000.

Two research files were developed from this project a Non-identifiable Research File (NRF) and a Special Research File (SRF):

• The NRF contains patient demographic information (e.g., gender, county of residence, zip code, age, race), a record identifier, treatment data, and Medi-Cal eligibility information (e.g., eligibility status, coverage, health plan). To obtain this data, a review committee from OSHPD must first approve the release of this information and justification for specific data elements. The NRF can be obtained from the Healthcare Information Resource Center of the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Questions should be directed to Mary MacDonald at (916) 322-2814 or mmacdona@oshpd.state.ca.us.
• The SRF includes the same variables as the NRF, but also includes more sensitive information such as dates and other identifiers. To obtain data from the SRF, review committees in both OSHPD and DHS must first approve a project protocol and justification. The SRF can be obtained from the Medical Care Statistics Section of the Department of Health Services. Questions should be directed to Carolyn Tagupa at (916) 651-6601 or ctagupa@dhs.ca.gov.