Health Insurance Coverage Expansion
Evaluation of California's Low-Income Health Program (LIHP) The evaluation of the LIHP as it was implemented in counties, focuses on four critical areas:
enrollment and retention strategies, coverage expansion, access to and quality of care, and the transition of LIHP enrollees into Medi-Cal or the California Health Benefit Exchange starting in 2014.
Rapid Evaluation of Performance Systems (REPS) for Counties Participating in the California Health Care Coverage Initiative
This project created a secure, password-protected web-based system for compiling and presenting both quantitative and qualitative data collected by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research as part of its evaluation of the Health Care Coverage Initiative for the California Department of Health Care Services.
Home and Community-Based Services
Evaluating Home and Community-Based Services in California
A comprehensive analysis of publicly-funded home and community-based services (HCBS) in California using Medi-Cal, Medicare and state data to inform our understanding of these programs and their beneficiaries.
Evaluating a Home and Community-Based Medication Dispensing Machine: Background and Framework
A comprehensive analysis of publicly-funded home and community-based services (HCBS) in California using Medi-Cal, Medicare and state data to inform understanding of these programs and their beneficiaries.
Health Information Technology
The Office of Health Information Technology (OHIT) at DHCS is responsible for developing goals and metrics for the Medicaid Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). OHIT is responsible for establishing policies and procedures, and implementing systems to disburse, track, and report on incentive payments. Through a series of projects (described below), OHIT is working with CAMRI and various UC research teams to assist in the establishment of a monitoring plan and in the development of reports to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
California Physicians' Use of Health Information Technology
This research project involved the design, implementation, and analysis of a state-wide survey of California physicians' use of electronic health records for DHCS - partnering with the California Medical Board's licensure renewal process to optimize response rates and analyze results by key demographic and practice characteristics.
California Health Systems Electronic Health Record Landscape Assessment
A landscape assessment of the use and promotion of electronic health records and health information technology among organized health systems in California. Reviews published and unpublished studies in a document that outlines the current state of such systems and provides recommendations for ongoing monitoring by the DHCS.
California Nurse Practitioner's and Nurse Midwives' Use of Health Information Technology
This research project included the design, implementation, and analysis of a survey of California Nurse Practitioners' and Nurse Midwives' use of electronic health records for DHCS.
Electronic Health Record Adoption Entities in California: Assistance in Developing a Proposal to CMS
Collaboration with DHCS staff to help develop a proposal to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the use of EHR adoption entities to assist solo/small practices achieve EHR meaningful use, especially practices serving Medi-Cal patients.
Developing a Plan for Monitoring Electronic Health Record's Meaningful Use among Ambulatory Care Organizations
Designing a plan to monitor the adoption of EHR among ambulatory care organizations in California, identifying the barriers to EHR adoption and the achievement of meaningful use.
Electronic Health Records: Meaningful Use by Hospitals in California
An analysis of 2010 American Hospital Association hospital survey data focusing on California hospitals and their progress towards meeting EHR meaningful use.
Medicaid Utilization and Expenditures
Small Area Variation in Medicaid Utilization and Expenditures: Implications for Cost Containment and Quality of Care
National and California regional comparison of the volume and cost of services delivered to Medicaid beneficiaries in 44 states.
Health Prevention Among the Medicaid Population
Medicaid Incentives for Prevention of Chronic Diseases: Increasing Quitting Among Medi-Cal Smokers
Oversight and evaluation of a federal grant program for the California Department of Health Care Services, aimed at using new outreach and incentives to encourage use of smoking cessation services among Medicaid beneficiaries.