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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been providing data to organizations participating in a range of innovation models to help them implement interventions and to provide feedback on performance. The authors studied 18 CMS models to gain a better understanding of factors contributing to model participants' use or nonuse of CMS-provided data. Factors that contribute to greater use include providing data that participants view as actionable, some type of accountability for performance, robust learning support, participants having resources to work with the data, and soliciting ongoing feedback about the data and related learning needs. Factors that discourage data uptake include time lag, lack of aggregated multi-payer data, exclusion of data for sensitive diagnoses, and small sample sizes. Claims-based data from payers can be an important source of information to innovation model participants. Lessons from this study can increase the usefulness of such data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the association among nursing home residents between strength of relationship with a primary care provider (PCP) and inpatient hospital and emergency room (ER) utilization. Method: Medicare administrative data for beneficiaries residing in a nursing home between July 2007 and June 2009 were used in multivariate analyses controlling for beneficiary, nursing home, and market characteristics to assess the association between two measures—percentage of months with a PCP visit and whether the patient maintained the same usual source of care after nursing home admission—and hospital admissions and ER visits for all causes and for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Results: Both measures of strength of patient–provider relationships were associated with fewer inpatient admissions and ER visits, except regularity of PCP visits and ACSC ER visits. Discussion: Policy makers should consider increasing the strength of nursing home resident and PCP relationships as one strategy for reducing inpatient and ER utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To compare health care utilization and payments between NCQA-recognized patient-centered medical home ( PCMH) practices and practices without such recognition. Data Sources Medicare Part A and B claims files from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010, 2009 Census, 2007 Health Resources and Services Administration and CMS Utilization file, Medicare's Enrollment Data Base, and the 2005 American Medical Association Physician Workforce file. Study Design This study used a longitudinal, nonexperimental design. Three annual observations (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2010) were available for each practice. We compared selected outcomes between practices with and those without NCQA PCMH recognition. Data Collection Methods Individual Medicare fee-for-service ( FFS) beneficiaries and their claims and utilization data were assigned to PCMH or comparison practices based on where they received the plurality of evaluation and management services between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008. Principal Findings Relative to the comparison group, total Medicare payments, acute care payments, and the number of emergency room visits declined after practices received NCQA PCMH recognition. The decline was larger for practices with sicker than average patients, primary care practices, and solo practices. Conclusions This study provides additional evidence about the potential of the PCMH model for reducing health care utilization and the cost of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]