LI Course
CE Hours: 3 contact hours

Partnership: MEPS is one of the national level databases funded and housed by AHRQ.

Statement of Purpose and Institute Overview: The purpose of this course is to facilitate the use of the publically available data and resources of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The mission of the Agency is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ supports research that helps policymakers, providers, and individuals make more informed decisions and in turn improve the quality of health care services. AHRQ is committed to improving health care safety and quality by developing successful partnerships and generating the knowledge and tools required for long-term improvement. The Nation's health care system has undergone major changes recently; most notable is the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). AHRQ is in position to help health care researchers address developments and gaps in health care as the PPACA is implemented. Participants will be introduced to a valuable AHRQ data resource: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). MEPS is unique in its capability to collect national level data on medical expenditures and all sources of payment including Medicare and out-of-pocket costs. Data from MEPS can facilitate research on chronic conditions; treated prevalence, expenditures and demographics associated with them. Methods of data collection and access to the data source will be discussed at this session. The session will provide the knowledge necessary to formulate research plans utilizing the data from MEPS. Participants will learn how to identify suitable variables for their research and how to use them. MEPS data can facilitate research across years so trends reports can be produced. Linkage capabilities with other data sources will be discussed. In addition, analytic considerations along with web tools will be demonstrated. MEPS Querynet and Table Customization tool will be demonstrated. Participants will follow the demonstration on their laptops. Data and research experts from each of the topic areas will contribute to the presentation. Participates will be encouraged to ask questions and seek guidance on their particular research needs.

Session Objectives: Demonstrate an understanding of the structure and contents of different levels of MEPS files (i.e. person-, condition-, family-, and event-level files). Describe how MEPS data is collected and be able to list the type of data collected. Compare total MEPS health care expenditures across years using MEPSnet Query Tool.