The Center for Health Data and Informatics manages, analyzes, and provides appropriate access to strategic information resources that support Utah's public health, health reform, and data security. The operating units of the Center are the Offices of Health Care Statistics, Public Health Assessment, Vital Records and Statistics, Health Data Security, as well as Health Informatics Program. The mission of the Center is to:
- Provide accurate, timely health information to monitor health status.
- Assess the performance of the health care system.
- Identify health threats.
- Document health events.
- Guide health decisions.
- Protect health information security and privacy.
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature appropriated for Fiscal Year 2016, $9,020,400 from all sources for Center for Health Data and Informatics. This is a 0 percent reduction from Fiscal Year 2015 revised estimated amounts from all sources. The total includes $1,966,600 from the General/Education Funds, an increase of 2.8 percent from revised Fiscal Year 2015 estimates.
In addition to statewide compensation and internal service fund cost increases, the following appropriation adjustments were made during the 2015 General Session:
Vital Records Trends
The Center for Health Data processes vital records for the State. The table below shows vital record information for Utah from 2009 through 2013. Deaths during this time period have increased 15%.
95% of Births in Hospitals Entered Accurately Electronically Within 10 Days
Conduct Risk Assessments For Each Information System in Operation
Deaths Registered Electronically
Number of Visits to MyHealthcare.com
The program implements this mission through the following functions:
- Registering, preserving, and certifying the State's vital records
- Collecting, tabulating, analyzing, and publishing vital statistics and other health status and health system statistical reports
- Providing health indicators to businesses and the public over the internet as an e-government service
- Coordinating e-health or informatics innovations among public health programs and between the public and private sector
- Providing training and consultation on the intelligent use of data for planning and carrying out public health and healthcare measures
- Providing health system transparency through analysis of data from the All Payer Claims Database and other health data
- Collecting and reporting of statewide hospitalization, surgery, and emergency department encounter data
- Collecting and reporting of managed care organizations' performance measures and health maintenance organization enrollee satisfaction
- Develop and monitor implementation of data security and privacy policies and procedures
- Provide training on data security and privacy management
Records of vital events preserved in the Office of Vital Records and Statistics are used for legal purposes, such as documentation of citizenship, age, and family relationships. The data derived from health records are for monitoring the health of the Utah population. The Department of Health routinely calculates and web-publishes health indicators through the Indicator Based Information System for Public Health (IBIS-PH). Key health indicators are leading causes of death, prevalence of chronic diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, and arthritis), and the incidence of serious injuries like poisonings and motor vehicle crash injuries.
Health care data collected under the Health Data Authority Act in UCA 26-33a permit similar monitoring of the functioning of the health care delivery system. Key indicators in this area include costs for hospitalization and medical care, access to and utilization of various health services, and comparative measures of the quality of health services provided throughout Utah. MyHealthCare website has the results of assessments of the health system in Utah.
The Office of Public Health Assessment surveys result in a number of reports, among them: Health Insurance Coverage, Injuries in Utah, Health Status in Utah, Chronic Conditions in Utah, Socioeconomic Status and Health, Limitations of Activities, Interpersonal Violence, Health Care Access and Utilization, Lifestyle Factors, and the Medical Outcomes Study.
COBI contains unaudited data as presented to the Legislature by state agencies at the time of publication. For audited financial data see the State of Utah's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports.