ATHNreport Winter 2008
ATHN is proud to announce that 24 HTCs are the recipients of the ATHNdata.quality.counts funding for data management. Over $490,000 in awards will support HTCs to expand their capacity. Funded projects include innovative strategies for regional data collection, such as Weill Medical College coordinating centralized training and shared data collection across 5 HTCs in Region II; smaller collaborations like the one between the Hemophilia Clinic of the West Michigan Cancer Center and the Pediatric Center at Bronson; projects to move toward complete core data by HTCs both large and small (e.g., University of Miami and Backus Children’s Hospital); and projects that emphasize data quality, such as the inclusion of a data audit component by Vanderbilt University and a quality assessment by Yale University.
ATHN recognizes that data quality does count and is working to advance complete and accurate data collection by HTCs in a standardized electronic format. ATHNdata.quality.counts is providing support and funding for ATHN Affiliate HTCs across the country to
- secure complete and accurate core data (e.g., demographics, diagnoses, coagulation medications, surgeries, laboratory tests, contact information and insurance) for use in disaster preparedness, electronic UDC submission and patient management beyond annual visits;
- support current Lab Tracker™ users to increase the amount and/or quality of their data;
- jumpstart data collection using Lab Tracker (web) by centers that are not currently users of Lab Tracker due to lack of funds for data management staffing.
This first round of ATHNdata.quality.counts funding, which closed September 15, 2008, was to fund an estimated 15 proposals valued at $400,000. The response was overwhelming. The request generated 31 proposals, more than twice the number and double the amount to be funded this time, prompting ATHN to increase the award to $490,042. Awardees come from 8 of the 10 regions that submitted proposals.
The technical review panel, comprised of ATHN Board member Ann Forsberg who chaired the panel, ATHN President and CEO Diane Aschman and members of the Technical Committee John Drake, Karmin Enge, Steve Pipe, Julie Thomas, and Crystal Watson, anonymously evaluated each proposal for fit with ATHN’s priorities, reasonableness of objectives and performance indicators, justification of budget, demonstration of financial need and value added. The ATHN Budget and Finance Committee reviewed the recommendations of the panel and endorsed funding by the Board.
A full list of awardees can be found at http://www.athn.org/data-quality-counts. HTCs submitting applications that were not funded in the first round will automatically be considered in the next round. Sites may choose to re-submit applications that address reviewers’ comments.
Watch for news of the next round of funding in the spring.
