Kansas Health Policy Authority Awards Thomson Reuters Contract for Health Care Data Integration and Analysis ...( ANN ARBOR Mich. Aug. 4 /- The Kan...),Health

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) has selected Thomson Reuters to develop a data system that will enable the agency to analyze the cost and effectiveness of health care in Kansas.

The system -- comprised of a data repository and a data analytic interface (DAI) -- will consolidate and manage health care data for several state programs. Andy Allison, KHPA's deputy director and Medicaid director, describes the project as, "a major building block in fulfilling KHPA's mission to advance data-driven health policy."

The data repository will contain information from the Medicaid Management Information System, the State Employee Health Benefit Program and the Kansas Health Insurance Information System. The DAI will enable KHPA to compare health care service and use patterns and identify areas for focus and improvements.

Thomson Reuters will deploy its Medstat Advantage Suite(R) solution, which combines a customized repository of health care data with a comprehensive set of analytic tools. The system generates intelligence and benchmarks that health plans, large employers and state and federal government agencies use to analyze and manage the cost and quality of health care delivered to their beneficiaries.

KHPA awarded the company a three-year contract through a competitive bidding process. The agency has the option to renew the contract for two additional years.

The Kansas Legislature created KHPA in 2005 to administer the state's health care database and coordinate the analysis of health data for programs the agency manages, as well as the state's private health insurance database. The legislature provided funding for the DAI project in 2007.

"Technology that makes it easier to share the state's data with key stakeholders is critical for system improvement," said Hareesh Mavoori, KHPA's director of data policy. "It's important as a health policy agency and our duty to health c
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