Key Monitoring Indicators of the Nation's Health and Health Care and TheirSupport by NCHS Data Systems

摘要

This project evaluates the adequacy and appropriateness of information collectedin the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) data systems to support key monitoring indicators for health reform. The results of the evaluation are intended to be used for guidance in strengthening and revising NCHS data systems to meet the need for a widely accepted set of key monitoring indicators for the nation. The report notes that, over the course of the project, major shifts in federal policy focus and political support for broad health care reformcoccurred. Instead of a federal level program, much of the responsibility for health care reform is being shifted to the state level. Ongoing changes in public priorities and in private payer and provider initiatives make the need for good information all the more critical for policymakers. The report concludes that criteria for evaluating questions about health and the health care system components that will withstand rapid system change.