News

MHDO Awarded $1,179,000 in Grant Funds

September 2014 MHDO was notified by the Department of Health and Human Services-Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight that their application for the Cycle IV Grant of the Health Insurance Rate Review Grant Program was approved. The amount of the award is $1,179,000. See the project abstract for this Cycle IV Grant as well as the abstract for the Cycle III Grant

Moratorium on Data Fee Waiver Requests

Update:

At the December 5, 2013 board meeting, the Board voted to, until further action of the MHDO Board of Directors, continue the moratorium on new requests for fee waivers or reductions.

Matching Maine HIE Clinical and APCD Claims Data Feasibility Study

At the June 6, 2013 Board of Directors meeting the MHDO board was briefed on the status of the feasibility study between MHDO and HealthInfoNet. The study looked at matching HealthInfoNet identified HIE clinical data to de-identified commercial claims data from the MHDO. - Full Feasibility Report

Previous News

2023

August 3, 2023 - Public Hearings was held for two Proposed Rules: Chapter 243: Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets and Chapter 247: Uniform Reporting System for Non-Claims Based Payments

July 8, 2023 - Rule Chapter 570 was finally adopted and is effective 7/8/23

July 1, 2023 - Collection and reporting of three new Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) quality metrics required as of 7/1/23. They are HAI-6, HAI-7 and HAI-8 and required under Rule Chapter 270.

June 28, 2023 - Data User Group Meeting was held virtually 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

June 1, 2023 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:00 AM

April 6, 2023 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:00 AM

February 22, 2023 - Data User Group Meeting was held virtually 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

February 2, 2023 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:00 AM

2022

December 28, 2022 - FY 2021 Hospital Unconsolidated Financial Reports and Health System Consolidated Financial Reports Available. New this year, ie. beginning with FY2021, MHDO reports Standardized Annual Health Systems data. See Financial Report IV which is consolidated data for the following health systems and hospital: MaineHealth, Northern Light Health, MaineGeneral Health, Central Maine Healthcare, and Maine Medical Center. Part IV includes tables displaying all data elements and ratios for each of Maine's health systems and Maine Medical Center and includes select financial indicator ratios for each.

December 20, 2022 - Adopted - Proposed Rule Chapter 247: Uniform Reporting System for Non-Claims Based Payments and Other Supplemental Health Care Data Sets. The effective date is December 20, 2022.

December 1, 2022 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:00 AM

November 20, 2022 - Data User Group Meeting was held virtually 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

October 6, 2022 - Virtual Public Hearing began at 9:00 a.m. for proposed Rules Chapter 100, Chapter 247, and Chapter 570

October 6, 2022 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually immediately following the public hearing

September 28, 2022 - Data User Group Meeting was held virtually 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

June 29, 2022 - Data User Group Meeting was held from 1:00 - 2:30

June 2, 2022 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:30 AM

April 27, 2022 - Data User Group Meeting was held virtually 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

April 14, 2022 - New Submission System for collection of Chapter 300 Organizational Data is live

April 14, 2022 - Webinar was held from 2-3pm to discuss the new Chapter 300 Organizational Data submission system

April 7, 2022 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually 9:00 - 10:30 AM

February 23, 2022 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 -2:30 p.m. via Zoom

February 3, 2022 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually from 9:00 - 11:00

January 28, 2022 - 2020 Hospital Financial Reports Available

2021

December 2, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually from 9:00 - 10:00

November 17, 2021 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 -2:30 p.m. via Zoom

November 4, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually immediately following the Public Hearings

November 4, 2021 - Virtual Public Hearing began at 9:00 a.m. for the proposed Rule Chapter 120 and Rule Chapter 730

October 28, 2021 - MHDO Stakeholder Meeting was held virtually from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. regarding LD 274, Public Law Chapter 34, Resolve, to determine the best methods and definitions to use in collecting data to assist in analyzing the origins of racial and ethnic disparities in the State of Maine

October 26, 2021 - MQF’s Primary Care Spending Advisory Committee Meeting was held virtually from 1:00 - 2:00 pm

September 23, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually immediately following the Public Hearings

September 23, 2021 - Virtual Public Hearing began at 9:00 a.m. for the Proposed Rule Chapters 241, 243 & 247

September 22, 2021 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 -2:30 p.m. via Zoom

August 24, 2021 2019 Hospital Financial Reports Available

July 29, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 -10:00 a.m. via Zoom

May 6, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 10:30 am via Zoom

April 28, 2021 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 via Zoom

February 24, 2021 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 via Zoom

February 4, 2021 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually from 9:00 - 10:30 am

2020

December 3, 2020 - MHDO Board Meeting was cancelled

October 28, 2020 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 via Zoom

October 1, 2020 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually from 9:00 - 11:00

September 3, 2020 - Public Hearings were held virtually at 9:00 am for Proposed Rule Chapters 243 & 570

September 3, 2020 - MHDO Board Meeting was held virtually, immediately following the Public Hearings

June 24, 2020 Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 pm via Miscrosoft Teams

June 4, 2020 MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00 am remotely

May 14, 2020 MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 9:30 am remotely via phone

April 29, 2020 Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 pm via Uberconference

March 5, 2020 MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00 am at MHDO 151 Capitol Street, Augusta

February 26, 2020 Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00 pm in room 305 at the Muskie Wishcamper Center at USM in Portland

January 16, 2020 MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 11:30 at the MHDO office

2019

December 18, 2019 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00 pm via webinar

December 11, 2019 2018 Hospital Financial Reports Now Available

November 21, 2019 - MHDO Board Meeting held immediately following the Public Hearings

November 21, 2019 - Public Hearing were held at 9:00 am for Proposed Rule Chapters 570, 100, 10 and 300 at MHDO 151 Capitol Street, Augusta

October 30, 2019 - Data User Group was held from 1:00 - 3:00 pm, room 415 at the Muskie Wishcamper Center, USM in Portland

October 25, 2019 - HAI/AR Collaborating Partners meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the Maine Health Care Association, 317 State Street, Augusta.

September 5, 2019 - Public Hearing was held at 9:00am regarding proposed changes to Rule Chapters 241 and 243

September 5, 2019 - MHDO Board Meeting was held immediately following the public hearing for Rule Chapters 241 and 243

August 28, 2019 - Data User Group meeting cancelled

August 23, 2019 - HAI/AR Collaborating Partners meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the Maine Health Care Association, 317 State Street, Augusta.

June 26, 2019 - Data User Group meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00pm, room 415 at the Muskie Wishcamper Center, USM in Portland

June 22, 2019 - Chapter 270 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Quality Data Sets was amended and replaces previous rule in its entirety.
Below are the effective dates for the different sections.

  • June 22, 2019 – Sections 1-2(A) (HAI 1-5), 2(C)-2(D), 2(F)-9
  • January 1, 2020 – Sections 2(A) (HAI 6), 2(B)
  • July 1, 2020 – Section 2(E)

May 23, 2019 - MHDO Board meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00am at 151 Capitol Street, Augusta

April 26, 2019 - HAI/AR Collaborating Partners meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at Maine Health Care Association, 317 State St., Augusta

April 24, 2019 - Data User Group meeting cancelled

March 7, 2019 - MHDO Board meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00am at the MHDO office

March 6, 2019 - Data Release Subcommittee meeting was held 9:00 - 10:00am at the MHDO office

February 27, 2019 - Data User Group meeting was held 1:00-3:00pm in Room 415 of the Muskie Wishcamper Ctr.

February 22, 2019 - HAI/AR Collaborating Partners meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the Maine Health Care Assoc., 317 State Street Augusta

February 6, 2019 - Due to resource limitations, effective today MHDO will not be accepting any new customized/ad-hoc data requests from external data requestors. We plan to take on new customized/ad-hoc data requests beginning in July 2019.

2018

December 19, 2018 - New MHDO On-line Hospital Financial Data Portal is now live

December 12, 2018 - Data User Group meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30pm

December 6, 2018 MHDO Board meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 at the MHDO

November 28, 2018 Data User Group meeting was rescheduled to December 12th

October 31, 2018 2017 Hospital Financial Reports Now Available

October 26, 2018 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the MHDO

October 10, 2018 RFP Questions and Answers for Proposal #201804087 are Available. They can be found on Procurement Services' website: www.maine.gov/purchases/venbid/rfp.shtml

September 24, 2018 - The Request For Proposal #201804087 submission date has been extended to October 22, 2018.

September 6, 2018 - A Public Hearing was held at 9:00 a.m. regarding the proposed rule changes to Rule Chapter 270 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Quality Data Sets. The MHDO Board Meeting was held immediately after.

August 24, 2018 - HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the CDC, Augusta

July 25, 2018 - Data User Group meeting was held 1:00 - 3:30pm via webinar only

July 18, 2018 - Due to the high volume of questions received regarding the MHDO Request For Proposal # 201804087, we will establish a new proposal due date to allow more time to issue responses to the questions.

July 17, 2018 - The New MHDO Hospital Data Dictionary is now available. The Hospital Data Dictionary is integrated with the APCD Data Dictionary and available here: https://mhdo.maine.gov/mhdo-data-dictionary/search.

June 28, 2018 - Rule Chapter 243 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets - Adopted

June 15, 2018 - MHDO is Seeking Proposals For Web Design. A copy of RFP# 201804087 Maine Health Data Organization Website Redesign can be obtained at the following website: www.maine.gov/purchases/venbid/rfp.shtml.

June 1, 2018 - HAI Collaborating Partners meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at CDC

May 30, 2018 - Data User Group meeting was cancelled

March 30, 2018 - CompareMaine v5.0 goes live

March 28, 2018 - Data User Group Meeting was held via webinar from 1:00 - 3:30pm.

March 12, 2018 - The deadline for Public Comments regarding the proposed rule change to Rule Chapter 243 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets closed at 5:00 p.m.

March 9, 2018 - Consumer Group Meeting cancelled due to family emergency

March 1, 2018 - MHDO Public Hearing was held at 9:00am regarding the proposed rule change to Rule Chapter 243 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets

March 1, 2018 - MHDO Board Meeting cancelled due to a family emergency

February 23, 2018 - Meeting of the HAI/AR Collaborating Partners Committee was held 12:00 - 4:00

January 31, 2018 - Data User Group Meeting cancelled

January 12, 2018 - Consumer Group Meeting cancelled

2017

December 7, 2017 - MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00am

November 29, 2017 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:30pm

November 21, 2017 - The New and improved MHDO APCD Data Dictionary is now available.

November 17, 2017 - Consumer Advisory Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00pm at the MHDO

November 15, 2017 - Hospital Data Submitter Webinar was held 1:00 - 2:00pm

November 3, 2017 - HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the CDC, Augusta

November 1, 2017 - FY 2016 Hospital Financial Data Reports are now available.

November 2017 - Maine is one of two states that earned an A in price transparency. The Price Transparency & Physician Quality Report Card 2017 by Altarum and Catalyst was released in early November. The report provides information on how readily consumers can find health care price and quality information in every state across the country. Maine is one of two states that earned an A in price transparency. The report states, "Maine also continues to set a high standard by collecting data in an APCD that includes a full scope of providers and paid amounts. The state’s price transparency website-CompareMaine has clear and easy to understand information on health care costs, and also allows consumers to select facilities for comparison purposes, earning Maine an A again this year."

October 31, 2017 - Rule Chapter 241: Uniform Reporting System for Hospital Inpatient Data Sets and Hospital Outpatient Data Sets Adopted

September 27, 2017 - Data User Group Meeting was held from 1:00 - 3:30pm in room 427 of the USM Muskie Wishcamper Ctr., Portland

September 8, 2017 - Consumer Advisory Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00pm at the MHDO.

September 7, 2017 - MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00am - 11:00pm at the MHDO.

August 25, 2017 - HAI Collaborating Partners Meeting was held 12:00 - 4:00pm at the CDC, 2 Anthony Ave. in Augusta.

August 16, 2017 - MQF Board Meeting 11:00 - 12:00 was held at the MHDO.

July 26, 2017 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00 at the Muskie Wishcamper Center, Portland.

July 13, 2017 - Public Hearing for recently proposed Rule Chapter 241 was held at 9:00 at the MHDO.

June 19, 2017 - New Data Request Tool -MHDO's new Data Request Portal has been released.

June 1, 2017 - MHDO Board Retreat and Meeting were held. Retreat held from 9:00 - 2:00 pm and the meeting from 2:00 - 3:00.

May 31, 2017 - Full Data User Group Meeting was postponed.

May 3, 2017 - Meetings of the Hospital Subcommittee and APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group were held at the Muskie Wishcamper Ctr, Portland

May 2, 2017 - New MHDO Level II Data Release Documents replaced the data dictionaries.

April 14, 2017 - HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was held from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at the CDC, 2 Anthony Ave., Augusta

March 29, 2017 - Meeting of the Data User Group was held from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center, Portland

March 13, 2017 - Rule Chapter 243: Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets Adopted

March 2, 2017 - MHDO Board meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 at the MHDO office

March 1, 2017 - Meetings of the Hospital Subcommittee and APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group were held at the Muskie Wishcamper Ctr, Portland

January 12, 2017 - Meeting of the Data User Group was held from 9:00am - 12:00pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Ctr, Portland

2016

December 8, 2016 - Meetings of the Hospital Subcommittee and APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group were held

December 1, 2016 - Public hearing for the recently proposed Rule Chapter 243 was held at 9:00 before the MHDO board meeting, which ended at 12:00

November 17, 2016 - Ad-Hoc Consumer Advisory Group meeting was held from 12:00 - 2:00pm in the MHDO Conference Room

November 9, 2016 - Full Data User Group meeting was held from 1:00 - 3:00 pm

November 2016 - Consumer Reports ranked MHDO’s website CompareMaine #2 in the country for stand-alone health care transparency websites. A summary of the report can be found here: http://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2016/11/save_money_and_get_the_best_care_from_your_health_plan/

October 28, 2016 - HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was held from 12:00 - 4:00 pm in Augusta

October 19, 2016 - Full Data User Group met from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland

September 30, 2016 - HAI Collaborating Partners meeting was held from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at 2 Anthony Ave., Augusta

September 28, 2016 - Hospital Subcommittee of the Data User Group meeting was held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm

September 28, 2016 - APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group meeting was held from 3:00 - 4:30 pm

September 23, 2016 - MHDO Value Proposition Subcommittee meeting was held from 10:00 - 11:30 am

September 8, 2016 - MHDO Board meeting was held from 9:00 - 12:00 at the MHDO office

August 9, 2016 - The new Value Proposition Subcommittee of the MHDO Board met 1:00 - 2:00 pm to discuss the MHDO value proposition for employers.

August 5, 2016 - Training Webinar for the new Hospital Data Submission Portal held from 1:00 - 2:00 pm.

August 2, 2106 - The new Hospital Data Submission Portal is Live.

July 28, 2016 - The new MHDO Rule Chapter 120 is effective. This rule specifies the permissible uses of the MHDO data; defines the different levels of data file types Level I, II, and III; the process for which data requests will be reviewed by MHDO; the data release process; public notice of data requests and opportunity for public comments; the method for an individual to opt out of Level III data releases; appeal rights for data providers; the MHDO Data Use Agreement (MHDO DUA); MHDO internal use of the data, and the security and protection of the MHDO data.
Be sure to see the new data request form.

July 27, 2016 - Hospital Subcommittee of the Data User Group met from 1:00-2:30 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland.

July 26, 2016 - APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group met from 11:00-12:30 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland.

July 22, 2016 - HAI Collaborating Partners meeting rescheduled

June 30, 2016 - CompareMaine 2.0 is Live.

June 29, 2016 - Full Data User Group met from 1:00 - 3:00 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland

May 25, 2016 - Hospital Subcommittee of the Data User Group met from 2:00-3:00 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland.

May 23, 2016 - APCD Subcommittee of the Data User Group met from 3:00-4:00 pm at the Muskie Wishcamper Center in Portland.

May 9, 2016 - FY 2014 Hospital Financial Data Reports are now available.

May 5, 2016 - MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am at the MHDO.

April 29, 2016 - Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at the MHDO.

April 27, 2016 - Data User Group meeting was held at the Muskie Center in Portland from 1:00-2:30 pm.

April 20, 2016 - MHDO sent communication to Payors informing them that the MHDO will take no action to enforce the data submission requirements under Rule Chapter 243, Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets, for a five month period from the date of the United States Supreme Court decision in Gobeille v. Liberty Mutual (March 1, 2016).

April 14, 2016 - Hospital Data Submission System Phase 3 Testing Webinar was held 1:00 - 2:30pm.

April 11, 2016 Healthcare Associated Infections in Maine, 2016 Annual Report - The Maine Quality Forum released its 2016 Annual Report on HealthCare Associated Infections in the State of Maine. See a copy of the executive summary and full report here.

March 30, 2016 - Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 3:00 in Portland at the Muskie Wishcamper Center.

March 18, 2016 - Consumer Advisory Group meeting was held 9:00 - 11:00 at the MHDO.

March 9, 2016 - Hospital Data Submission Training Webinar was held from 2:00-3:30 pm.

March 3, 2016 - MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am at the MHDO.

February 24, 2016 - Data User Group Meeting postponed due to inclement weather

February 4, 2016 - MHDO Board Meeting was cancelled. The next meeting will be March 3, 2016

February 3, 2016 - NAHDO convened a webinar from 2:00-3:00 PM EST. covering two aspects of ICD-10 implementation.

January 28, 2016 - MHDO Board Meeting was held 9:00 - 10:30 am in the MHDO conference room to continue discussion/review of the Proposed Rule Chapter 120.

January 22, 2016 - Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held from 12:00 - 4:00 pm at 2 Anthony Ave., Augusta, Pine Tree Room.

January 7, 2016 - MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the MHDO conference room.

2015

December 14, 2015 - The deadline for written public comments expired 12/14/15 at 5:00 pm for Proposed Rule Chapter 120 and 270.

December 3, 2015 - Board meeting from 9:00 - 11:00 as well as a public hearing (at 9:00) for proposed changes to rule Chapter 270 and 120 was held at the MHDO.

November 18, 2015 - Webinar Training Session on New Hospital Data Submission Portal was held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm.

November 9, 2015 - Data Dictionaries updated and accompanying explanation documents were provided November 6th with the Q2 2015 APCD data release.

November 5, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the MHDO board room at 151 Capitol St., Augusta.

November 4, 2015 - 2012 Inpatient, 2012 Outpatient, and 2013 Inpatient Data Released - 2012 Inpatient and Outpatient data were previously released (Summer of 2014 and Falls of 2015), but additional data have been received since and incorporated into the November 2015 release. See the release notes on the Hospital Data page for more details.

October 27, 2015 HealthCost 2014 is replaced by www.CompareMaine.org, which provides information about the average cost (based on commercial claims data only) for approximately 300 procedures at approximately 200 health care facilities/practices. The new site also includes select quality measures. See the press release issued by the Governor's office for more information.

October 21, 2015 Data User Group meeting 1:00 - 2:30 in Portland at the Muskie Wishcamper Center. Meeting previously scheduled for October 28th, but conflicted with the annual meeting of the National Association of Health Data Organizations and the APCD Council.

October 20, 2015 Claims Data Submitters Webinar was held 3:00 - 4:00 to discuss Chapter 243 changes.

October 1, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am at the MHDO.

September 30, 2015 Data User Group meeting cancelled due to conflict with Advanced Primary Care Summit.

September 25, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting 1:00 - 3:00 pm held at the Pine Tree Room, 2 Anthony Ave., Augusta.

September 16, 2015 Deadline to submit written public comments regarding the proposed changes to Rule Chapter 241 expired at 5:00 pm yesterday, September 15, 2015.

September 11, 2015 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting was held 9:00 - 12:00 pm at 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

September 9, 2015 CompareMaine Website Webinar was held from 3:00 - 4:00 pm
Healthcare facilities and health plans were provided an overview of the Medical Episode Grouper methodology as well as an update on several other issues that have been addressed as a result of feedback. See PowerPoint deck and recording with captions (on YouTube).

September 3, 2015 An MHDO Board Meeting was held from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the MHDO board room at 151 Capitol St., Augusta. Included was a public hearing beginning at 9:00 am regarding the proposed changes to Rule Chapter 241.

September 3, 2015 The MHDO Board adopted the most recent draft proposal of Chapter 243, based on comments received during the public comment period.

August 28, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee meeting was cancelled in the interest of time, and members were asked to comment/vote via email based on information sent from Stuart Bratesman 8/25/15.

August 26, 2015 Data User Group meeting was cancelled.

July 29, 2015 MHDO Data User Group Meeting was held 1:00 - 2:30 pm in Portland at the Muskie School.

July 24, 2015 Data Dictionaries Updated - See the new Data Dictionaries containing APCD data elements, which were released July 24th with the Q1 2015 APCD data.

July 24, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held from 1:00 - 4:00 pm in Augusta.

July 16, 2015 MHDO Board Retreat was held from 9:00 - 3:00 pm at the Maine Medical Association in Manchester, ME.

July 16, 2015 A public hearing was held at 9:00 am for the proposed changes to Rule Chapter 243 at the Maine Medical Association in Manchester, ME prior to the MHDO Board retreat.

July 13, 2015 A new website page, dedicated to informing people of the developments with the CompareMaine website, was created.

July 10, 2015 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting was held 9:00 - 12:00 pm in the MHDO Board Room.

July 2, 2015 MHDO Board meeting was cancelled.

June 30, 2015 CompareMaine Data Review Webinar was held with healthcare facilities and health plans from 2:00 - 3:00. The webinar provided an overview of the new CompareMaine website and timelines; reviewed the payment data spreadsheet templates they had been sent; and reviewed the process and timeline for providing the MHDO with feedback. A recording with captions (on YouTube) of the webinar and the PowerPoint deck were made available.

June 26, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held from 1:00 - 4:00 pm in Augusta.

June 24, 2015 Data User Group Meeting held from 1:00 - 2:30 pm via Webinar.

June 23, 2015 CompareMaine - Coming Soon! Webpage was created to inform the public of the status and decisions made along the way to the new CompareMaine website going live, which was 10/27/15.

June 22, 2015 Data Dictionaries Update: We are working on improving the APCD data elements documents. We plan on releasing the final copies of our new data dictionaries with our next release of APCD data which is scheduled for the week of July 20th.

June 4, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting held from 9:00 - 11:00 am at 151 Capitol St., Augusta.

May 29, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held 1:00 - 4:00 pm, Pine Tree Room, 2 Anthony Avenue, Augusta.

May 27, 2015 Data User Group meeting cancelled.

May 20, 2015 Data Submission Webinar was held from 1:00 - 2:00pm.

May 8, 2015 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting held from 9:00 - 12:00 in the MHDO Board Room at 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

May 2015 New Page Available: Hospital Data Submitters

May 2015 Data Dictionaries: We are working on improving the APCD data elements documents. Please check back early June to review the new data dictionaries. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact us at Webcontact.MHDO@maine.gov.

April 2015 Hospital Quality Ratings via Monahrq The release utilizing MONAHRQ version 5.0 and Maine's 2012 hospital encounter data has been revised to July 2015 due to efforts to ensure ADA accessibility standards are met.

April 29, 2015 Data User Group meeting held 1:00 - 2:30 via Webinar only.

April 24, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting 1:00 - 4:00 pm held in the Pine Tree Room, 2 Anthony Avenue, Augusta, Maine.

April 9, 2015 Transitioning to ICD 10: A period to test hospital data new ICD-10 fields was designated. Details were available on our Hospital Data Submitters Page.

April 2, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting held from 9:00 - 11:00 am at 151 Capitol St., Augusta.

April 2015 The MHDO board suspended the rule making for Chapter 120 at its January 29, 2015 meeting in order to address several issues. At the April 2, 2015 meeting the MHDO board agreed to initiate the rule making process for Chapter 120. A timeline will be discussed at the June 4th board meeting since the May 7th meeting was cancelled.

March 27, 2015 HAI Collaborating Partners Committee Meeting was held at the Maine CDC offices, 286 Water St, Augusta, Room 16 from 1:00 - 4:00.

March 25, 2015 Data User Group Meeting held in room 415 at the Muskie School in Portland from 1:00-2:30 PM.

March 13, 2015 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting held from 9:00-12:00 in the MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

March 2015 Hospital Quality Ratings via Monahrq: We plan to release an updated version (5.0) of MONAHRQ using our 2012 hospital encounter data by the end of March.

March 5, 2015 Board Meeting held from 9:00-12:00 in the MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

March 2015 Releases of hospital encounter data can now be followed via our Data Release Schedule Page .

February 2015 The next release of the Hospital Inpatient Encounter Data for CY 2013 (based on discharge date) is scheduled for April, 2015. The next release of the Hospital Outpatient Encounter Data for CY2013 (based on discharge date) is scheduled for June 2015.

February 25, 2015 Data User Group Meeting held from 1:00-2:30 PM in room 419 at the Muskie School in Portland.

February 5, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting Cancelled.

January 29, 2015 MHDO Special Board Meeting held from 9:00 - 12:00 at 151 Capitol Street in Augusta: This meeting was to continue discussion of the comments and responses to the proposed data release rule.

January 28, 2015 Data User Group Meeting was cancelled.

January 13, 2015 MHDO Announcement in Response to CMS' Suspension of SCIP Inf-4 Measure Collection: Consistent with the recent announcement by CMS, the MHDO will suspend the collection of SCIP–Inf-4 as of Quarter 3 (Q3) 2014. Meaning, hospitals will not need to report SCIP-Inf-4 for Q3 2014 and Q4 2014 reporting periods. Consistent with our earlier notification regarding the other SCIP measures, hospitals will need to report for Q3 2014 and Q4 2014 reporting period. Bottom line:

  1. Effective with July 1, 2014 discharges, we are no longer enforcing the collection of SCIP-Inf-4
  2. As of January 1, 2015 we are no longer enforcing the collection of the other SCIP measures defined in Chapter 270.

Please do not hesitate to contact Karynlee Harrington at Karynlee.harrington@maine.gov or Kim Wing at Kimberly.Wing@maine.gov with any questions.

January 9, 2015 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting held from 9:00-12:00 in the MHDO Board Room at 151 Capitol Street in Augusta.

January 8, 2015 MHDO Board Meeting held from 9:00-11:00 AM in the MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta: Public comments and responses from the proposed Chapter 120 changes were discussed.

2014

December 24, 2014 MHDO Announcement Regarding Rule Chapter 270 and Future Reporting of SCIP Measures:

The MHDO Board of Directors voted at the December 18th board meeting to align with the decision made by CMS regarding the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) measures. As many of you know these measures will become voluntary reporting measures with CMS effective January 1, 2015 with the exception of SCIP-4-Inf (Cardiac Surgery Patients With Controlled Postoperative Blood Glucose).

Hospitals are required to report their 2013-Q3 and 2013-Q4 data for all the current SCIP measures as defined in rule chapter 270 by the respective deadlines in 2015. As of New Year's Day, Maine hospitals will only be required to collect (and then later report) data for the SCIP-Inf-4 measure.

The MHDO will suspend the enforcement of data collection effective January 1, 2015 for the following SCIP measures consistent with the action of the measure steward (CMS):

  • SCIP-Card-2 Surgery patients on beta-blocker therapy prior to arrival who received a beta-blocker during the perioperative period (Measure steward – CMS);
  • SCIP-Inf-1a-h Prophylactic antibiotic received within one hour prior to surgical incision – overall rate and seven subcategory surgery rates (coronary artery bypass graft, cardiac surgery, hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, colon surgery, hysterectomy, and vascular surgery) (Measure steward – CMS);
  • SCIP-Inf-2a-h Prophylactic antibiotic selection for surgical patients – overall rate and seven subcategory surgery rates (coronary artery bypass graft, cardiac surgery, hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, colon surgery, hysterectomy, and vascular surgery) (Measure steward – CMS);
  • SCIP-Inf-3a-h Prophylactic antibiotics discontinued within 24 hours after surgery end time – overall rate and seven subcategory surgery rates (coronary artery bypass graft, cardiac surgery, hip arthroplasty, knee arthroplasty, colon surgery, hysterectomy, and vascular surgery) (Measure steward – CMS);
  • SCIP-Inf-09 Urinary catheter removed on postoperative day I (POD 1) or postoperative day 2 (POD 2) (Measure steward – CMS);
  • SCIP-VTE-2 Surgery patients who received appropriate venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis within 24 hours prior to surgery to 24 hours after surgery (Measure steward – CMS).

The MHDO will continue to enforce the collection of SCIP-Inf-4 (again, consistent with the measure steward).

Lastly, we will we merge the SCIP-Inf-4 measure onto the MHDO HAI form and ask hospitals to leave that part blank if you have nothing to report. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions and or concerns.
Karynlee

December 18, 2014 Public Hearing & Board Meeting held from 9:00 - 11:00 AM in the MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

The meeting began with a public hearing regarding the proposed changes to Chapter 120 data release rule then followed with a MHDO board meeting.

December 17, 2014 Data User Group Meeting postponed. The meeting previously scheduled for Dec. 17th has been postponed due to the holidays.

December 5, 2014 FY 2013 Hospital Financial Data Reports: Report 1 is now available as well as Reports 2 and 3. Researchers can view annual summaries of Maine hospitals' data elements and ratios for FY 2005 through FY 2013.

December 4, 2014 MHDO Subcommittee Meeting on Phase II of LD 1740 held from 9:00 - 11:00 AM in the MHDO conference room, 151 Capitol Street.

December 2014 MHDO December Board Meeting Rescheduled to 12/18/14.

November 19, 2014 Data User Group Meeting 1:00 - 2:30 PM in room 305 at the Muskie Center in Portland.

November 10, 2014 Chapter 270 Hospital Quality Data is now available and includes Q4 2013 data.

November 7, 2014 Consumer Advisory Group 9:00 - 12:00 151 Capitol Street, Augusta in the MHDO Board Room.

November 6, 2014 MHDO Board Meeting Cancelled.

November 2014 Rule Chapter 270 - Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Quality Data Sets was revised August 2013. We are providing a document summarizing the changes to Chapter 270 to assist those looking for the specific changes to Chapter 270.

November 2014 FY 2013 Hospital Financial Data Reports: Reports 2 and 3 are now available. Researchers can view annual summaries of Maine hospitals' data elements and ratios for FY 2005 through FY 2013. Report 1 will be available by the first of the year.

October 2014 Release Schedule Available: Claims Data Releases can now be followed via our data release schedule.

October 29, 2014 Data User Group Meeting 1:00 - 2:30 PM Room 415, Muskie School, Portland.

October 23, 2014 MHDO Board Meeting 9:00 - 11:00 AM MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

October 24, 2014 Q2 2014 APCD Data Released: For more information see our Claims Data page.

October 10, 2014 New Version of the SCIP Submission Form Released - Inf-10 measure is no longer included.

October 10, 2014 MHDO Announces Suspension of data collection for SCIP-Inf-10. Pursuant to Sections 2 and 11 Rule Chapter 270, and CMS' decision, announced in the Revisions to Version 4.3 of the CMS Specifications Manual for National Hospital Quality Measures, to retire the SCIP-Inf-10 (perioperative temperature management) MHDO will suspend collection of SCIP-Inf-10 numerator and denominator data for the 2014-Q1 reporting period forward.

October 7, 2014 Revision of the SCIP Measures Submittal Form - Corrections were made to the SCIP data submittal form based on feedback received. Resubmissions are not required if the previous form was used.

October 6, 2014 Revised Q2 2014 Release Date: The release date for Q2 2014 APCD data, previously scheduled for the week of October 6th has been revised. For more information see Data Releases.

October 2, 2014 SCIP Measures Submittal Form is Available.

October 2014 A new and improved Healthcare Associated Infection Data transmittal file is available. After completing the form, you can automatically save the file to your desktop as well as email it to QualitySubmissions.MHDO@maine.gov" by clicking the form's SAVE AND EMAIL button.

September 2014 The next release of our Hospital Encounter Data is scheduled for December 2014. This release will include CY 2013 data.

September 2014 We plan to release an updated version (5.0) of MONAHRQ using our 2012 hospital encounter data by the end of this calendar year.

September 30, 2014 Guidelines to Submit SCIP Measures to MHDO - These are guidelines to follow for submission of SCIP Measures to MHDO. The form for submittal will be available in the next day or two.

September 24, 2014 Data User Group Meeting 1:00 - 2:30 PM.

September 10, 2014 SCIP Message Message From MHDO: Due to the suddenness of the announcement yesterday that the new QIO will not be submitting Maine hospital SCIP data to the MHDO, the MHDO is taking the following steps:

  • The hospital deadline for submitting 2014-Q1 Chapter 270 SCIP measures data to MHDO has been extended to October 15th
  • MHDO will seek the advice of Maine hospitals to develop the simplest and least burdensome method for submitting Chapter 270 SCIP measures data to MHDO. Please e-mail any suggestions, advice or comments to kimberly.wing@maine.gov
  • MHDO will publish and distribute new SCIP data submission instructions and, if necessary, a SCIP data submission form the week of October 1st.
  • MHDO will provide interim guidance on SCIP data collection including a list and description of the data elements your hospital will need to submit. This guidance will be available on the MHDO website the week of September 22nd.

Sept. 9, 2014 SCIP Data Announcement Message From MHA: The new QIO, HealthCentric Advisors also known as the New England Quality Innovation Network, has been advised by CMS that they will not have any access to the CMS inpatient or outpatient data other than what is available on the CMS website. In lieu of this, all Maine hospitals must now submit their own SCIP data to the Maine Health Data Organization each quarter, as required under Chapter 270.

September 12, 2014 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting 9:00 - 12:00 MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

September 2014 APCD Data: The next release of the APCD data is currently scheduled for the week of October 6th. This will include Q2 2014 Commercial and MaineCare/Medicaid data as well as Medicare Q3 2013 data.

August 15, 2014 Outpatient Hospital Encounter Data for CY 2012 was released.

The following documents were provided with the release: Outpatient Release Notes, Outpatient Release File Layout, and Outpatient Record Counts. Note: Update to 2012 file can be found on the Hospital Data Page.

August 2014 The next release of the APCD data is currently scheduled for the end of September. This release will include Q2 2014 Commercial Claims and MaineCare Data as well as Medicare Q3 2013 data.

August 2014 FY 2013 Hospital Financial Data is now available. Contact Debbie Dodge for more information.

August 2014 Q1 2014 APCD Data was released 8/5/14. This included Commercial Claims and MaineCare data.

August 2014 Inpatient Hospital Encounter Data: The next release of the Inpatient and Outpatient Hospital Encounter Data for CY 2013 is scheduled for September.

July 31, 2014 2:30 - 3:30 PM Payer User Group Webinar Regarding the Chapter 243 Changes.

July 30, 2014 1:00 - 2:30 PM Data User Group Meeting.

July 11, 2014 9:00 - 12:00 Consumer Advisory Group Meeting, MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

July 1, 2014 APCD Data was released 7/1/14. This release included Q3 2013 (including the backfill data for previous quarters), Q4 2013, and historical refresh files.

July 2014 Download the HAI Data Transmittal Workbook (.xls) to your computer. After its completion, save the file utilizing the correct naming convention, and attach to an email addressed to Quality Submissions.

June 2014 Revised 2014 Annual Report of Healthcare Associated Infections in Maine : A correction has been made to the 2014 Annual HAI Report - Maine Coast Hospital's 2012-13 HAI-3 central-line catheter infection prevention best practices compliance rate was incorrectly stated at 73% when the correct rate is 78%.

June 2014 2012 Inpatient Data was released May 2, 2014.

June 2014 Hospital Financial Data Reports : The next release of FY 2013 Hospital Financial Data Reports will be October 2014.

June 2014 Chapter 243 Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data Sets - The proposed rule has been adopted and is effective as of May 27, 2014. Also available is the Final Summary of Changes to Chapter 243.

June 2014 Quarterly APCD Data Release: The next quarterly release of APCD data is currently scheduled for August 1st. This will include Q1 2014 Commercial and MaineCare claims data.

June 2014 The next release of the APCD data is currently scheduled for July 1, 2014. This release will include Q3 2013 (which includes the backfill data for previous quarters), Q4 2013, and historical refresh files.

June 2014 FY 2012 Hospital Financial Data Reports are Available. Researchers can now view annual summaries of Maine hospitals' data elements and ratios for FY 2005 through FY 2012.

June 2014 Chapter 270 Hospital Quality Data: The next release of Chapter 270 data will be in September and include 4th quarter 2013 data.

June 25, 2014 Data User Group Meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled for July 30th.

June 17, 2014 9:00 - 12:00 Interested Parties Input Session regarding PHI per LD 1740. MHDO Board Room, 151 Capitol Street, Augusta.

May 2014 The DHA-Maine Quality Forum (MQF) is delighted to announce that it will support the administration of another round of CG-CAHPS surveys to patients served by primary and specialty practices in Maine. As in 2012, MQF will pay subsidies of up to 90 percent of survey costs to practices that contract with a MQF-qualified vendor, use an allowable version of CAHPS, and agree to have their survey results publicly reported. More information about the program can be found in this announcement.

May 2014 Chapter 10 Determination of Assessments is effective as of April 23, 2014.

April 2014 MHDO HealthCost 2014 - Public website with average cost information for just under 200 common medical procedures by healthcare facility. The website includes a link to GoodRx which provides drug pricing information from pharmacies nationwide so that consumers can search to find the lowest price for their medication. The site also includes the recently released 2014 annual report on Healthcare associated infections in Maine. Go visit HealthCost and let us know what you think by completing the on line survey . More enhancements are coming to the website over the next 18 months so stay tuned!

April 2014 The Healthcare Associated Infections in Maine, 2014 Annual Report prepared by the Maine Quality Forum in collaboration with the ME-CDC and Muskie is now available.

April 2014 New and improved Healthcare Associated Infection (HAI) transmittal workbook - After downloading and completing the April 2014 edition, automatically save the file to your desktop and email by clicking the new SAVE AND EMAIL button.

March 2014 Public website of Patient Experience Survey data (CAHPS-PCMH survey tool). Review results of the Maine Quality Forum's survey initiative on how Maine patients rate their experience at their primary and specialty care physician practices throughout the State.

March 2014 MHDO HealthCost 2014 Feedback: Help us to Improve! Visit MHDO HealthCost 2014, then take a few minutes to complete the survey. Your Opinions Matter.

March 2014 Next Release of 2012 and 2013 Hospital Encounters: The next scheduled release for 2012 and 2013 hospital encounters (based on discharge date) should be available in the first half of 2014.

March 2014 Next Release of the APCD Data: The next release of the APCD data is currently scheduled for the second week in April. This data release will include the 4th quarter of 2013 claims data from commercial plans as well as MaineCare (Medicaid) and CY 2012 and the first two quarters of 2013 Medicare data.

March 2014 Next Release of Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Encounter Data: The next release of the hospital encounter data for CY 2012 which was scheduled for the end of March has been delayed due to some data quality issues. A new release date will be posted as soon as available.

March 25, 2014 Chapter 243 Rule Changes: Appendix D-1 previously was missing data element MC899. Be sure to note it does remain a data element and is unchanged.

March 13, 2014 Chapter 243 Uniform Reporting System for Health Care Claims Data A public hearing will be held at the MHDO Board of Directors meeting on April 3, 2014 regarding the proposed changes to Chapter 243.

March 13, 2014 Chapter 10, Determination of Assessments: Public comments to the proposed rule change are being accepted until March 17, 2014. They must be in writing and received no later than 5:00 p.m.

March 10, 2014 Chapter 243 Proposed Rule Changes and Summary of Changes: The Summary of Changes for Chapter 243 is now posted on our Rules page.

March 2014 FY 2012 Hospital Financial Templates are Available - Contact MHDO.

January 6, 2014 Third Quarter 2013 All Payer Claims Database Released: Feedback has been positive. Crosswalks for long encrypted values, as well as accessing the data via secure download, has been well received.

January 2014 Maine's 2013 Q3 APCD Data Was Released 1/6/14: Data consumers are now able to receive files via secure download. Details were emailed directly to users with open data requests.

January 2014 Medicare Data will be Obtained Quarterly: Calendar year 2012 and Q1 and Q2 of 2013 should be available by early 2014.

2013

December 2013 New Chp. 270 Resource Materials have been made available for the submission and administration of quality data measures.

12/31/13 - Release of the Third Quarter 2013 All Payer Claims Database

You will notice a change in the data release, which is that the long encrypted values have been replaced with integers. Previously used values were linked prior to assigning replacement integers, bridging the gap across previous changes in encryption methods. Crosswalks to previously used values will be included in the release to ensure continuity. We are pleased to report that our data consumers will now be able to receive files via secure download. Details will be emailed directly to our data users with open data requests.

The next scheduled release is due the second week of April 2014 and will include:

  • Commercial Claims through December 2013
  • MaineCare (Maine Medicaid) Claims through December 2013
  • January-June 2013 Anthem data
  • Medicare claims through December 2011

December 2013 - Release of Maine 2013 Q3 APCD Data is Scheduled for 1/6/14: Data consumers will now be able to receive files via secure download. Details will be emailed directly to users with open data requests.

12/31/13 - Release of the Third Quarter 2013 All Payer Claims Database: The release of Maine 2013 Q3 APCD data that was scheduled for 12/31/13 has been delayed by a few days. In our efforts to improve the quality of our APCD data release we have made the decision to delay the release of the third quarter data (which will also include Anthem data for the first two quarters of 2013). We anticipate the data being available for you to access Monday January 6th.

December 2013 - Updated FAQ's Now Available on the MHDO Data Warehouse Portal under the Help Tab.

12/6/13 Waiver of Annual Registration Requirements for Payers not Required to Submit Claims Data.

12/6/2013 - Chapter 241 Has Been Finalized: Rule Chapter 241 - Uniform Reporting System for Hospital Inpatient Data Sets and Hospital Outpatient Data Sets is Effective November 26, 2013.

11/18/13 Website User Feedback - Help us to Improve!

11/7/13 - Chapter 241 Update: Board Adopts Final Changes to Chapter 241 Uniform Reporting System for Hospital Inpatient Data Sets and Hospital Outpatient Data Sets.

10/25/13 - Claims Submissions Deadline: October 31st is the deadline for Q3 2013 Claims Data Submissions. See PUG Page for more information.

10/5/13 - Chapter 241 Update: Public Hearing for Proposed Rule Changes Held at the October 3, 2014 Board Meeting.

November 2013 Data Warehouse Portal - the MHDO Data Warehouse Portal is now open to those entities that are required by State law to submit medical claims, pharmacy, dental and eligibility data to the MHDO. Stay tuned for future updates and functionality.

9/1/13 - Portal is Open: MHDO Data Warehouse Portal is Now Open!

September 2013 Nurse Perceptions of the Culture of Safety Survey (NPCS) Data Eliminated: Chapter 270 was revised effective August 17, 2013. The requirement for submission of the Culture of Safety survey data to MHDO, beginning with the 2013 calendar year, was eliminated.

8/17/2013 - Chapter 270 Uniform Reporting System for Quality Data Sets Has Been Finalized: We have posted a summary of changes to this chapter on our Chapter 270 Quality Data page.

July 2013 - HealthCost Update: 2011 & 2012 Data Added to HealthCost Website.

6/6/13 - Moratorium: Moratorium on Data Fee Waiver Requests. It will take effect with any data fee waiver request that the MHDO receives after 5:00pm on June 15, 2013

May 2013 - Medicare data is now available: The latest (April) release of the APCD includes Medicare data through 2010.

May 2013 - MaineCare data is now available. The latest (April) release of the APCD includes MaineCare data through 4th quarter 2012.

2/23/13 LD 1818 Final Report Released: The LD 1818 Workgroup was tasked by a Legislative Resolve to evaluate the following:

  • current structure of the Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO)
  • current uses of health care data
  • changes needed to increase access to health care data
  • the most appropriate and cost-effective sources of data