The Maine Health Data Organization has, in accordance with Rule Chapter 120: Release of Data to the Public, instituted a process for the purpose of notifying users and providers of health care data when the MHDO receives a request for health data and accepts that request. In addition to sending electronic notification to interested parties and to providers that are responsible for the submission of the data, we provide the summary page of the ten most recent data requests below. If you are interested in seeing requests prior to the last on this page, you will find them here:https://mhdo.maine.gov/dataRequests_archived.htm
For all data requests, the data providers or other interested parties may submit comments related to the data request to the Executive Director. To be considered, comments must be received by the Executive Director in writing or by electronic notification no later than thirty business days after the initial posting of the data request on the MHDO web site. If the Executive Director determines that (a.) the comments received are of significant enough importance to delay the release of data and/or (b.) additional information is required from the requesting party to address the comments; then the data shall not be released until the additional information has been received from the requesting party and an additional review is conducted by the Executive Director or the MHDO Data Release Subcommittee, as applicable, to ensure that the requesting party conforms to all applicable requirements of this chapter.
The Executive Director will bring all comments received from the data providers and or other interested parties for the release of Level III Data to the MHDO Data Release Subcommittee for consideration.
Individuals who want to opt out of a specific Level III data request may do so by completing this MHDO Choice Disclosure Form no later than 30 business days after the initial posting of the data request. If you opt out of Level III data requests, you will remain opted out unless you choose to opt back in via completion of the MHDO Choice Disclosure Form.
NOTE: If you would like to be notified when new data requests are posted, please email your request.
| Request # | Requesting Party and Title | Affiliation | Date Posted | Comment Close Date | Specific Data Request | Purpose of Request Benefits to the Citizens of Maine Public Reporting Plans |
Released Denied Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023091501 | Trachimowicz, Gina, Dr. - Neonatologist | Maine Neonatology Associates | 9/25/2023 | 11/6/2023 | A subset of the MHDO CY 2022 Maine Surprise Billing Template, limited to the median allowed amounts for neonatal & newborn CPT codes, by zip code and rating area. | Maine Neonatology Associates (MNA) is a group of specialists providing 24/7/365 newborn coverage and services within the NICU at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) at Maine Medical Center (the only level 4 NICU in the state) and Mercy Northern Light Hospital. In 2021, the NICU at BBCH admitted approximately 1000 infants, showing it has the full market share of infants requiring specialized care in the state and region. MNA will utilize the MHDO data to create fair and honest fee structures that align with the intention of the No Surprises Act, aiming to avoid payment disputes and improve contract negotiations with out-of-network insurers. This will ultimately benefit many infants and families in Maine. | |
| 2023091201 | Hooper, Marti, Life and Health Actuary | Maine Bureau of Insurance | 09/25/2023 | 11/6/2023 | MHDO Ad Hoc Request: CY 2017 - CY 2022 cost of biomarker testing for commercial and MaineCare members | The Ad Hoc report data will be used by the Bureau of Insurance to develop an analysis of projected expenditures of biomarker claims coverage and create a report for the Health Care, Insurance, and Financial Services Legislative Committee's mandate request, in response to proposed bill LD 1577 - An Act to Require Health Insurance Coverage for Biomarker Testing. This report may benefit Maine insurance policyholders and MaineCare members through determining the feasibility of including this coverage. | |
| 2023080701 | Grass, Dana | MaineHealth – Maine Bleeding Disorder Clinic | 8/30/2023 | 10/11/2023 | MHDO Ad Hoc Request: CY 2017 - CY 2022 number of deidentified patients with bleeding and clotting diagnosis by county, zip code, and facility name, including pharmacy locations fulfilling clotting factor medications. | The Maine Bleeding Disorders Center (MBDC) is a hemophilia treatment center within the Maine Health system. MBDC serves patients throughout the state of Maine and parts of New Hampshire with rare bleeding disorders. The data time frame for this report will be from 2017 – 2022, and include specific bleeding and clotting disorder diagnoses to identify locations that could serve as potential new sites for MBDC outreach clinics. The Ad Hoc report will also provide data regarding pharmacy claims for specific clotting factor drugs to identify locations that are not yet served by MBDC’s pharmacy program. It's possible that these regions will have claims data that differs from our patient population in number, highlighting to our team that this area may be underserved by our clinic. The goal of this project will be to identify potential outreach clinic sites for the MBDC that would increase accessibility of care for the largest number of patients and to identify potential existing clinics/hospitals in the area to partner with for the clinics. The main focus is on regionalizing areas according to where the patient population is located in order to afford easier care access. In addition to this, MBDC hopes to gather information on the geographic location of patients with hereditary clotting disorders by using specific diagnosis codes. MBDC plans to potentially expand and service this community in the future. | |
| 2023071701 | Ahrens, Katherine, Asst. Research Professor | University of Southern Maine | 7/20/2023 | 8/30/2023 | Q1 2023 – Q4 2023 Level II Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility data sets, with City/Zip, DOB, and FIPS codes. | This data request seeks to add an additional year of MHDO data (2023) to previously approved data request number 2022060713. The ongoing research project seeks to assess maternal health care utilization and morbidity in the first 24 months’ postpartum among women in Maine starting in 2006 up to present, focusing on women with medical conditions commonly diagnosed during pregnancy. We will assess if rural versus urban residence modifies postpartum health care utilization and morbidity, and how delayed contraception initiation affects short interpregnancy intervals. The findings from our analysis may be used to decrease the risk of future adverse health outcomes for women with common pregnancy conditions, thereby contributing to lowering maternal morbidity and mortality in the US. This project will benefit the people of Maine by identifying opportunities for healthcare interventions postpartum to improve reproductive women's health. This longitudinal study has so far published 5 manuscripts in academic journals, benefitting reproductive age women in Maine and their healthcare providers. | |
| 2023070601 | Bonthius, Jessica, Epidemiologist | Maine CDC | 7/13/2023 | 8/23/2023 | Q1 2022 – Q2 2024 Level II Hospital Inpatient & Outpatient Encounter data, including DOB, City/Zip, FIPS codes, and Race & Ethnicity data. | Maine CDC is requesting MHDO hospital encounter data, as a continuation of a previously approved data request number 291555, to conduct routine surveillance of chronic disease and environmental health conditions in Maine. Maine CDC uses MHDO data to monitor disease trends over time and identify geographic patterns in health disparities, including sub-county disparities. Emergency department visits (outpatient) and hospitalizations (inpatient) are key indicators and often the only available data for the surveillance of conditions ranging from chronic conditions (like asthma or cardiovascular disease) to acute situations (like heat-related illness) to maternal morbidity. These data will allow us to collaborate with Maine CDC agency partner programs, inform public health policies, and guide community outreach efforts throughout the State. | |
| 2023061301 | Menker, Madison Wolfe | Encompass Health | 07/12/2023 | 8/22/2023 | Q4 2021 – Q3 2022 Level II Inpatient Hospital Encounter Data with Patient Zip Codes | Encompass Health, an existing provider in Maine with its New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland (a Joint Venture with Maine Medical Center), will use the MHDO Inpatient Hospital Encounter data to evaluate the health care needs of Maine residents, and to determine ways in which Encompass might best serve those patients. The Level II data will allow Encompass to understand patient migration patterns and health care usage by area of the state. The patient zip code data will help us assess the distribution of services and identify any gaps in care. Payer category information will allow us to determine if utilization patterns differ by payer (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial) and if so, to what extent the usage differs and if that varies by ZIP Code area. Benefit to Citizens of Maine: This data will be used to better determine the services Encompass is currently providing and what should be provided to meet the needs of residents in the state. | |
| 2023062902 | Weiss, Diana Dir. Business Intelligence | InterMed, P.A. | 7/06/2023 | 8/16/2023 | Q3 2022 – Q2 2023 Level II Medical Claims data, including Member City/Zip and Practitioner Identifiers | InterMed is requesting additional quarters of data to continue their previously approved project under MHDO data request number 2021121401. InterMed is a physician-owned medical group founded on the goals of patient centered primary care that is enhanced by integrated specialty services. InterMed serves patients in the community through practice sites in Portland, South Portland, and Yarmouth with the driving vision of care without compromise, every patient, all the time. InterMed plans on using medical claims data to identify opportunities to improve access, quality, and cost of care. For example, identify where patients are driving long distances to receive regular care for chronic conditions like diabetes. Identify potential locations to expand services including community based ambulatory care, partnerships with employers and regional health systems that will improve access. That is why InterMed is requesting demographic information to include patient zip code, location of healthcare services and providers throughout the state as well as details on diagnoses and procedures. InterMed also plans on using claims data to better understand the uptake of telehealth and opportunities to enhance those service and potentially integrate remote monitoring for hard to control conditions like hypertension. InterMed will use MHDO data to develop strategies to address clinical and social determinants of health. For example, using diagnosis to risk stratify populations and inform personalized healthcare services like care coordinators and dietitians for the highest risk populations. Benefits to the Citizens of Maine: InterMed’s use of the MHDO data will directly impact quality and operational improvement activities in our organization and thus benefit our patients. This data will help inform our decisions regarding the allocation of primary care and specialty services and enable us to develop targeted new programs. | |
| 2023062801 | Manchester, Chloe, Epidemiologist | Maine CDC | 6/30/2023 | 8/14/2023 | MHDO Ad Hoc Request - CY 2018 through CY 2022 adult Hepatitis A & B vaccinations by Maine county. | Maine CDC Division of Infectious Disease Surveillance is requesting MHDO to produce aggregate data on adult hepatitis A and B vaccination administration across the state from 2018-2022 to better identify areas of low vaccine coverage and view trends over time. Vaccination records for adults are not widely available because there is no universal adult vaccination program in Maine as exists for children. Therefore, all-payer claims data is a way to get insight into adult vaccination administration trends and coverage. These data will allow the Division of Infectious Disease Surveillance to collaborate with agency partners, community organizations, health care facilities and hospital systems to improve access to and uptake of hepatitis A and B vaccines. | |
| 2023041301 | Taylor, Rebecca, Deputy Dir.Research & Evaluation | Maine DHHS, Office of Behavioral Health | 6/12/2023 | 7/25/2023 | CY 2016 – CY 2023 Level II - MHDO Limited Data Set: Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility, In and Outpatient Hospital Encounters, released at the City/Zip and Date of Birth level including Practitioner Identifiers, Race & Ethnicity data, Anonymous Payer Name/ID. Along with Integrated APCD and Hospital Encounter Vital Birth & Death Statistics, and the De-Identified Person Directory. | MHDO’s data will be used as part of a three-part project to understand the impact of COVID-19 on behavioral health care service utilization by Maine residents. The Office of Behavioral Health, as part of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for ensuring timely access to appropriate, high-quality, evidence-based behavioral health care for all people in Maine. The overall goals of this project are to quantify and compare de-identified mental health and substance use disorder care utilization prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and compare this to patterns of utilization since the pandemic state of emergency was declared on March 16, 2020. Three types of behavioral health care de-identified utilization will be examined: outpatient/ambulatory care visits, emergency department/acute care hospital visits, and pharmaceutical utilization. Benefit to the citizens of Maine: The data being requested will be utilized to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Mainers with behavioral health care needs. As the single state authority responsible for mental health and substance use disorder care provision in the state, OBH will use this data to classify vulnerable subpopulations whose ability to access behavioral health care has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, which in turn will allow evidence-based policy and program investment decisions. This data will also allow OBH to investigate the “health” of the behavioral health care system in Maine – where demand outpaces supply for types of behavioral health care, for example – which will inform how the state allocates funding to ensure care is available for all Mainers. | |
| 2023060701 | Harrington, Karynlee, Director | Maine Quality Forum | 6/8/2023 | 7/21/2023 | Level II Q1 2016 - Q4 2022 Medical Claims, Medical Eligibility, Pharmacy Claims, Pharmacy Eligibility released at the City/Zip and Date of Birth level including Practitioner Identifiers, Payer Group ID, Payer Name/ID and Anonymous Payer Name/ID; and non-claims-based payments, including supplemental data sets defined in Public Law 2022, Chapter 603, and 90-590 CMR Chapter 247, Uniform Reporting System for Non-Claims Based Payments and Other Supplemental Health Care Data Sets. | Both Public Law 244, An Act to Establish Transparency in Primary Care Spending; and Public Law 2022, An Act Regarding Reporting on Behavioral Health Care Services… requires the Maine Quality Forum (MQF) to produce annual spending reports for primary care and behavioral health care services in Maine using data from the Maine Health Data Organization. This request updates the data time-period by adding the most recent CY data set, 2022. The report will include the percentage paid (claims and non-claims payments) as a percentage of the respective total medical expenditures for primary care and behavioral health care by commercial insurers, the MaineCare program, Medicare, and the State Employee Plan and the Maine Education Association Benefits Trust; as well as the average percentage of total medical expenditures paid for primary care and behavioral health care across all payors. The reports will be submitted in January 2024 to the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health coverage and health insurance matters. Copies of most recent reports can be found here: https://mhdo.maine.gov/mqf.html. Purpose of Request/Benefits to the Citizens of Maine/Public Reporting Plans: Legislative mandate |