What's New In USHIK

The latest USHIK release includes the All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) Portal. All-Payer Claims Databases are utilized at the state and regional levels to collect information on disease incidence, treatment costs, and health outcomes. This information can be leveraged to facilitate research, inform policy decisions, and support the implementation of state and local government initiatives. The metadata in USHIK provides payers, researchers, and other stakeholders with detailed specifications for this data on a state-by-state basis for many of the states with APCD programs, including:

• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• New Hampshire
• Oregon
• Tennessee
• Vermont

Note that no patient data is contained in USHIK. Rather, USHIK contains only the metadata that supports the submission and collection of all-payer claims data state-by-state. APCD data element metadata is added to USHIK as additional states develop their APCD databases.

The functionality of the new USHIK APCD portal includes:

• A map-based information model that allows selection of states for analysis and comparisons
• Analysis and search tools that support rapid location and breakdown of state-by-state metadata
• Comparison tools that permit the user to visually align and compare similar data elements and their metadata from multiple states; this feature aids harmonization and mapping activities

These tools are extremely valuable to anyone interested in developing APCD standards, performing APCD-based research across states, or supporting harmonization and convergence of these specifications. The USHIK team invites anyone with an interest in APCD activity to explore this portal.
The USHIK team would like to thank the staff from NAHDO and the APCD Council (as well as the staff from many of the above states) for their support in the development of this portal and for their ongoing commitment to making it a success.

The most recent release of USHIK contains a new Standards portal. Some highlights regarding this portal are:

• The Standards portal is currently reserved for metadata from specific Standards Developing Organizations (SDOs) who have been accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• This portal can be used to research, review and compare metadata between different SDOs
• Currently, metadata from the ASC X12 5010 data set is included; data sets from other SDOs are forthcoming

USHIK version 2.5.1 has been released. This version includes many updates, including site-wide look-and-feel improvements, new functionality, and back-end improvements that increase performance. Some highlights are:

• Visual enhancements throughout the site for improved appearance and ease-of-use
• New layouts for list, detail, and comparison pages to improve usability and readability
• A new, friendlier front-page layout that is more intuitive and welcoming for new USHIK users
• Back-end enhancements for faster performance
• Enhanced search and comparison tools that facilitate faster, more accurate, and more usable analysis of USHIK metadata

New metadata loaded to USHIK, including the X12 5010 data and Maryland's APCD data.

The latest USHIK release includes replacing the MUMM portal with the Meaningful Use portal. The Meaningful Use portal contains information for Eligible Providers (EPs), Eligible Hospitals (EHs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to help them achieve Meaningful Use Stage 1 goals and objectives. Some highlights to the portal are:

• Full descriptions of the Clinical Quality Measures and the Core and Menu Measures
• Ability to compare different version of the same measure and quickly identify the similarities and differences
• View the Quality Data Elements to each measure and retrieve descriptions from NLM (ICD-9, LOINC & SNOMED-CT)
• FAQ and helpful links to CMS and ONC