IMPAQ INTERNATIONAL LLC

The purpose of this project is to increase access to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claims data through the creation of public use data and to determine a method of providing public access to these data which is useful to researchers and data entrepreneurs, while continuing to strictly protect beneficiary and provider confidentiality. This activity is being conducted for the first time. All Public Use Files (PUFs) created for this project will not only have personally identifying variables removed in compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, but removed in a way that prevents re-identification of individuals by inside and outside intrusion. To guarantee the confidentiality of Medicare beneficiaries’ Protected Health Information (PHI) and assure an overall low disclosure risk, sophisticated de-identification methods and rigorous re-identification analysis will be employed. The primary products to be developed under this project are Basic Stand-Alone, Enhanced and Linked PUFs. These requirements are being developed and implemented de novo. There is no precedent or prior work on which to model this activity. This is technically and scientifically complex activity which will require an unknown number of iterations of the activity to ensure the production of high value data, in a rapid manner, while adhering to the highest level of beneficiary and provider protection.

Clarification of Codes