Assignment 3: Health Information Technology (HIT) System Project Report

For this assignment, students will examine a set of national healthcare performance measures, focus on querying a national dataset to obtain and analyze data originating from health databases, and generate a HIT report of findings. Students will access data reported to the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and found in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) research databases, the Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse (CCW). The CCW supports chronic conditions, health policy analysis, and other CMS initiatives.

Students will access the CMS Mapping Medicare Disparities (MMD) dataset and search for data to answer a query or question that is utilized to request information from a database or dataset. Students will use spreadsheet skills and design visual graphs/charts to compare, interpret, and integrate findings into a scholarly analytical HIT report recommending improved outcomes and further queries. See the course module for resources on the CMS MMD tool as well as tutorials for creating Excel spreadsheets and charts.

Assignment Criteria:
For the HIT Report, address the following dataset query from your workplace:

1. Query: Using the latest year’s available data, is there a difference in the prevalence of heart failure for selected populations (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Other) for Florida’s Medicare recipients compared with the national prevalence of heart failure for these six populations of Medicare recipients?

2. Search the CMS MMD dataset by following these steps. You will conduct six searches for data by only changing the race/ethnic parameters (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Other).
Data from each search will be presented in a downloadable spreadsheet showing data for all states and the comparison to the nation. You will locate in the dataset the record (a row in the spreadsheet table) for Florida and then move across the row to
find the comparison prevalence data for the nation.

Getting started:
a. Visit the CMS Medicare Mapping Disparities page https://data.cms.gov/tools/mapping-medicare-disparities-by-population
b. Choose the Population tab at top. From the Get Started box, select “GO” to begin your first search of the dataset.
c. From the drop-down boxes which are dataset fields, choose the following parameters. Note that the comparison group is the nation and the national parameters in the search must match those set for the state.

3. Extract the relevant data from each of the spreadsheets and construct one spreadsheet using MS Excel. Present the raw prevalence data (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and Other ) in a table format with headers and formulas to determine and show the differences in state and national prevalence and averages. See the course module for an example of a final spreadsheet.

4. Transform the data from the spreadsheet and create two charts: an Excel line chart and a bar chart using the spreadsheet’s raw data table. Utilize color to showcase the findings. Review the literature to determine whether a line or bar chart is appropriate for presenting prevalence data. Cite a source to support your choice of chart.

5. Generate the HIT Report document that will include your analyses, a copy of your Excel spreadsheet and one preferred selected chart. For your analyses include the following:

a. Intro to the paper and brief overview of heart failure prevalence in the United States as a population health problem. Cite sources.
b. Answer the dataset query by reporting a summary of findings from the Excel table and selected chart. Your selection of a chart should present the data most clearly and be best practice for showing prevalence data. Cite sources. Include the table
and selected chart within the text or as appendices per APA 7th edition format.
c. Analyze the table and your chart for trends and presence of health disparities among the races/ethnicities. Cite sources.
d. As the DNP leading this report, propose one additional source of data to be collected and tracked in the EHR. Generate a new dataset query question that includes this additional source of data. Cite sources.
e. Propose one specific evidence-based recommendation/strategy to the workplace that could improve health outcomes for Florida’s Medicare heart failure patients (choose one specific race/ethnicity, gender, or age). The recommendation should be
supported by evidence from the current literature. Cite one or more sources.
e. End the paper with a brief conclusion explaining the relevance of using HIT databases/datasets such as the CMS MMD to
generate information and knowledge for clinical practice. Cite a source.

6. The scholarly paper should be in narrative format, 5 to 6 pages excluding the title and reference pages.

7. Include an introductory paragraph with a purpose statement and a conclusion.

8. Utilize level 1 and 2 headings to organize the paper.

9. Write the paper in third person, not first person (meaning do not use ‘we’ or ‘I’) and in a scholarly manner. To clarify: “I, we, you,
me, and our” may not be used. In addition, describing yourself as the researcher or the author should not be used.

10. Include a minimum of five professional peer-reviewed scholarly journal references to support the paper (review in Ulrich
Periodical Directory) and be less than five (5) years old. Cite the CMS MMD dataset as a reference and to support tables/charts.

11. APA7th edition format required (attention to spelling/grammar, a title page, direct quotes, a reference page, table/chart formatting,
and in-text citations).