Data
The data included in this web-based tool are publicly available and consist of, but are not limited to:
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Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Area Health Resources File (data released 2022)
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) PLACES (data released July 2023)
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County Health Rankings (data released 2023)
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Dartmouth Health Atlas – Medicare Reimbursements/Enrollee (data released 2020)
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Care Compare (data released July 2023)
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U.S. Census, 2017 American Community Survey (data released 2022)
- Master Data Dictionary of data definitions used throughout this Toolkit (Excel)
Note: Care Compare data in the Toolkit does not include data that has been suppressed due to small numbers. The Critical Access Hospital Measurement and Performance Assessment System (CAHMPAS), maintained by the Flex Monitoring Team, provides access to financial, quality, and community-benefit performance data of CAHs at the state and hospital level. Community and quality data in CAHMPAS are available to the public. Critical access hospitals (CAHs), state Flex Coordinators, and SORH staff may access detailed financial data through a password-protected site. State Flex Coordinators and CAHs already have access to Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) data from quarterly reports created by Flex Monitoring Team in support of Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Population Type and Size
Each scenario can be summarized by the population type. The population type is determined based on the population size of a specific county. The population types include metro, nonmetro cities, and nonmetro towns. These types are adapted from the rural-urban commuting area codes (RUCA) and core-based statistical areas (CBSA) definitions of rural and urban. The population types for counties are defined as follows:
- Metro - A population of 50,000 or more
- Nonmetro cities - A population between 2,500 and less than 50,000
- Nonmetro towns - A population of less than 2,500
Limitations
Limitations apply to the population health planning tool. The data is limited to the data sets that are publicly available and permitted to be repurposed on this website. The data sets are also limited to the most recent data published by federal agencies. Finally, the developed scenarios and the educational materials produced are not all-encompassing. They are examples of the types of analysis that can be conducted using public data for population health planning.