HSR Information Central

Subject List

Evidence-Based Practice and Health Technology Assessment

Evidence-Based Practice (Domestic)

• ACP Journal Club - (American College of Physicians (ACP) USA)  - This Web site comprises a 10-year archive (from 2000 to the present) of the cumulative electronic contents of ACP Journal Club, with recurrent weeding of out-of-date articles. The content is carefully selected from over 100 clinical journals through reliable application of explicit criteria for scientific merit, followed by assessment of relevance to medical practice by clinical specialists.

• AHRQ Effective Healthcare - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The Effective Health Care Program is dedicated to facilitating decision making by providing findings from high-quality research in formats for different audiences.

• Cancer Quality of Care Measures Project - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - In this project, NCI is collaborating with other agencies and organizations to identify evidence-based quality measures for diagnosing and treating certain major types of cancer

• Cochrane Collaboration - Improving healthcare decision-making globally, through systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions.

• Effective Health Care Glossary - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Developed to support the AHRQ Effective Health Care program.

• Evidence-Based Health Policy Project - (University of Wisconsin)  - The project includes four methods by which to provide public and private sector policy makers with timely, non-partisan, high quality information for evidence-based decision-making.

• InterMed - A joint project of researchers at Harvard Medical School, Stanford University School of Medicine, Columbia University, and the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine working toward a representation for sharable guidelines.

• National Guideline Clearinghouse™ (NGC) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Resources for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines.

• National Quality Forum (NQF) - Not-for-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting.

• Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (QUERI) - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - Works to improve the quality of healthcare for veterans by implementing research findings into routine clinical practice. The QUERI centers focus on nine high-risk and/or highly prevalent diseases or conditions among veterans.

• Why Not the Best? - (Commonwealth Fund)  - Free resource for health care professionals interested in tracking performance on various measures of health care quality. It enables organizations to compare their performance against that of peer organizations, against a range of benchmarks, and over time.

• World Wide Web-based EBM Hedges - (Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM))  - Links to evidence-based medicine websites.

Evidence-based Practice (International)

• AHFMR Publications - (Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR))  - Provides a list of publications from AHFMR including its Health Technology Assessment group. Of special interest is the latest version of the Health technology assessment on the Net: a guide to Internet sources of information.

• Bandolier - (Pain Research Group UK)  - The first issue of Bandolier, an independent journal about evidence-based healthcare, written by Oxford scientists, (RAM AND HJM) was printed in February 1994. It has appeared monthly ever since and has become the premier source of evidence based healthcare information in the UK and worldwide for both healthcare professionals and consumers.

• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health - National body that provides Canada's federal, provincial and territorial health care decision makers with credible, impartial advice and evidence-based information about the effectiveness and efficiency of drugs and other health technologies. It was formerly known as the Canadian Coordinating Office for Health Technology Assessment (CCOHTA)

• Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine - Aims to develop, teach and promote evidence-based health care and provide support and resources to doctors and health care professionals to help maintain the highest standards of medicine.

• Centre for Reviews and Dissemination - Part of the National Institute for Health Research, CRD undertakes high quality systematic reviews that evaluate the effects of health and social care interventions and the delivery and organisation of health care.

• CMA Infobase - (Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Canada)  - Clinical practice guidelines produced or endorsed in Canada.

• Integrative Approaches to Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence - (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE))  - This 2004 report is an informal review of the literature on integrating qualitative and quantitative forms of evidence. The report seeks to address five related questions: 1. What is the role of qualitative approaches in traditional trials and experimental studies? 2. At what point in the development of a field of knowledge is it appropriate to pull qualitative and quantitative learning together? 3. What constitutes good evidence from qualitative studies? 4. Are there hierarchies of evidence within the different types of qualitative investigation? 5. How may the findings of qualitative and quantitative research be synthesised?

• International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) - International membership organization including leading quality health care providers and agencies in just under 70 countries. The ISQua Secretariat is located in Australia.

• National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) - Set up as a Special Health Authority for England and Wales on 1 April 1999. It is part of the National Health Service (NHS), and its role is to provide patients, health professionals and the public with authoritative, robust and reliable guidance on current "best practice".

• Netting the Evidence, A ScHARR Introduction to Evidence Based Practice on the Internet - Produced by the School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield. Intended to facilitate evidence-based healthcare by providing support and access to helpful organisations and useful learning resources, such as an evidence-based virtual library, software and journals.

Health Technology Assessment

• Health Information Research Unit, HIRU, McMaster University - Conducts research in the field of health information science and is dedicated to the generation of new knowledge about the nature of health and clinical information problems, the development of new information resources to support evidence-based health care, and the evaluation of various innovations in overcoming health care information problems.

• Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) - Focuses uniquely on health technology assessment (HTA) and provides the key forum for all those from the worlds of health care, academia and business interested in the science, development and application of HTA. Health technology assessment (HTA) offers "supporting evidence based decision making in health care policy and practice".

• Health Technology Update - (Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Canada)  - Produced twice a year, the newsletter presents articles about new and emerging medical drugs, devices, procedures, and health systems to support health care decisions and policy making at the local, regional, provincial, and national levels.

• HTA 101 - Introduction to Health Technology Assessment - Health technology assessment (HTA) is the systematic evaluation of properties, effects or other impacts of health technology. This online e-book explains the 10 basic steps of HTA.

• Medical Technology and Practice Patterns Institute (MTPPI) - A nonprofit organization established in 1986 to conduct research on the clinical, economic, and social implications of new and emerging health care technologies.

• NHS Health Technology Assessment Programme - UK National Coordinating Centre of the Health Technology Assessment (NCCHTA) manages, supports and develops the NHS HTA program funded by the UK Department of Health.

• NZHTA Clearing House - New Zealand Health Technology Assessment (NZHTA) was a clearing house for health outcomes and health technology assessment, operating from 1997-June 2007. NZHTA is no longer active but publications can still be accessed from this site.

• Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) - SBU presents the scientific evidence on the benefits, risks, and costs associated with different interventions. SBU identifies methods that offer the greatest benefits and the least risk, focusing on the most efficient ways to allocate healthcare resources. However, SBU also identifies methods currently in use that provide no benefits, have not been assessed, or are not cost effective.

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Health Policy and Health Economics

• Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research - (World Health Organization (WHO))  - The Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research is an international collaboration based in the WHO Geneva. It has its origins in the recommendations of the 1996 report of WHO's Ad Hoc Committee on Health Research which identified lack of health policy and systems research as a key problem impeding the improvement of health outcomes in low and middle income countries.

• The American Health Quality Association (AHQA) - Represents Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and professionals working to improve the quality of health care in communities across America. QIOs share information about best practices with physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, and others.

• CalHealthReform - (California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF))  - One-stop site to learn about the 2007 reform proposals on the table, compare and analyze features of the proposals, and weigh in on the policy debate.

• Cancer Care Outcomes Research & Surveillance Consortium - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Descibes the Cancer Care Outcomes Research and Surveillance Consortium (CanCORS), which supports prospective cohort studies on 10,000 patients with newly diagnosed lung or colorectal cancers recruited in geographically diverse populations and health care systems.

• Center for Health Quality, Outcomes, & Economic Research (CHQOER) - (Health Services Research and Development Service, Veterans Administration (HSR&D))  - The Center's three research priority areas are: patient-centered care, medication effectiveness, and patient safety. Across these domains, researchers develop innovative methodologies and models of care to provide the most effective, efficient and appropriate care to our nation's veterans.

• Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - Health is a growing area of analysis for CBO, with work done across the agency. CBO's health work is divided into two categories: (1) estimating the budgetary impact of federal health programs and (2) preparing studies on health policy issues.

• Duke Health Policy Gateway - (Center for Health Policy, Law and Management, Duke University)  - A categorized list of Web links in health policy.

• The Economics of Health Care - Developed by the United Kingdom's Office of Health Economics (OHE), this is an interactive "e-source" on the basic principles of health care economics. The course is split into five units, which show how economists approach the problem of health care.

• Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) - EPIC is a public interest research center in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1994 to focus public attention on emerging civil liberties issues and to protect privacy, the First Amendment, and constitutional values.

• Families USA - A national nonprofit working for the consumer in national and state health policy debates.

• Health Economics and Health Policy -- Places to Go - This German site provides links to websites on health economics and health policy.

• Health Economics Program (HEP) - (Minnesota Department of Health (MDH))  - The Health Economics Program conducts research and applied policy analysis to monitor changes in the health care marketplace; to understand factors influencing health care cost, quality and access; and to provide technical assistance in the development of state health care policy.

• Health Economics, Policy and Medical Outcomes Sources - Links to sources of information on health economics, health policy, and health outcomes.

• Health Policy and Planning Online - Health Policy and Planning's aim is to improve the design and implementation of health policies in low- and middle-income countries through providing a forum for publishing high quality research and original ideas, for an audience of policy and public health researchers and practitioners. HPP is published six times a year (bimonthly) by Oxford University Press.

• Health Policy Monitor - (International Network Health Policy and Reform Germany)  - A 20-country-project initiated and sponsored by the Bertelsmann Stiftung since 2002, associated with the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies. Every six months, the experts report and comment on five or more health policy trends and developments from their countries.

• Health Policy Resources - (Health Sciences and Human Services Library, U. of MD (HS/HSL))  - Web links to information on health policy issues.

• Health Services & Economics Branch Areas of Research - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Examines the dissemination of effective cancer-related health services into community practice. Monitors demographic, social, economic, and health system factors that influence preventive, screening, diagnostic, and treatment services for cancer.

• International Health Economics Association (iHEA) - Formed to increase communication among health economists, foster a high standard of debate in the application of economics to health and health care systems, and assist young researchers at the start of their careers.

• International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) - non-profit membership organization that promotes the practice and science of pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes assessment

• Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law - (Duke University Press)  - Focuses on the initiation, formulation, and implementation of health policy and analyzes the relations between government and health—past, present, and future.

• Key Resources in Health Economics - (National Library of Medicine, NICHSR)  - Links to a PDF core list of materials (books, journals, websites and bibliographic databases) and a desired list of books and journals in the field of health economics. The lists are primarily geared to individuals who are new to the field or unfamiliar with the various resources on health economics and need to acquire and/or access publications, databases, and websites in the health economics domain.

• Key Resources in Health Policy - (National Library of Medicine, National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology)  - Links to a PDF of selected list of essential materials in health policy. The resulting report is intended as a selection guide rather than as standard, provides recommendations for books, journals, Internet sites, and organizations and publishers to monitor for reports. The recommendations are primarily geared to academic and health sciences librarians who are not familiar with the literature of health policy and who need to acquire publications or assist in locating Internet sites in the domain.

• Key Topic Guide on Cost and Access to Health Care - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - This bibliography presents links to analyses and perspectives on the problems of access to services and the cost of health care.

• Lister Hill Center for Health Policy, UAB - (University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) USA)  - Located in the School of Public Health of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. This endowed Center has a university wide mission to facilitate the conduct of health policy research and to disseminate the findings of that research beyond the usual academic channels.

• Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) - Established in 1997 by the merger of the Physician Payment Review Commission (PPRC) and the Prospective Payment Assessment Commission (ProPAC). Created by congressional mandate (Public Law 105-33), the 15-member nonpartisan Commission advises the Congress on Medicare Payment policies.

• National Academy of Social Insurance - Nonprofit, nonpartisan organization made up of the nation's leading experts on social insurance. Its mission is to promote understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security and a vibrant economy.

• National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO) - National, not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to improving health care through the collection, analysis, dissemination, public availability, and use of health data.

• National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) - Private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA helps to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda.

• National Health Law Program (NHeLP) - A national public interest law firm that seeks to improve health care for America's working and unemployed poor, minorities, the elderly and people with disabilities.

• National Health Policy Forum (NHPF) - (George Washington University)  - The National Health Policy Forum is a participant-driven, nonpartisan information exchange program that works to foster more informed government decision making.

• NCSL's Health Policy Issues - (National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL))  - The NCSL health programs and staff collect information related to many state and federal health issues. The programs track legislative action in the states, identify new and important research and the effects on public policy and disseminates information about state innovations.

• New York Academy of Medicine - (New York Academy of Medicine)  - NYAM has been advancing the health of people in cities since 1847. An independent organization, NYAM addresses the health challenges facing the world's urban populations through interdisciplinary approaches to innovative research, education, community engagement and policy leadership. Drawing on the expertise of diverse partners worldwide and more than 2,000 elected Fellows from across the professions, our current priorities are to create environments in cities that support healthy aging; to strengthen systems that prevent disease and promote the public's health; and to implement interventions that eliminate health disparities.

• Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease (PFCD) - A national coalition committed to raising awareness of the policies and practices that save lives and reduce health costs through more effective prevention and management of chronic disease.

• Public Policy Institute - (AARP)  - PPI conducts objective research on public policy issues of concern to the aging.

• RAND Health Program - RAND Health is a research division within the RAND Corporation. For 60 years, RAND has been working to improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND Health continues that tradition, advancing understanding of health and health behaviors, and examining how the organization and financing of care affect costs, quality, and access.

• Risk Adjustment Impact Study (RAIS) - (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF))  - This study seeks to answer two questions: How is health-based risk adjustment implemented? and What is the impact of health-based risk adjustment on purchasers and on managed care organizations (MCOs)?

• UCLA Center for Health Policy Research - (University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) USA)  - Its mission is to improves the public's health by advancing health policy through research, public service, community partnership, and education.

• Urban Institute's Health Policy Center - (Urban Institute (UI))  - Analyzes trends and underlying causes of changes in health insurance coverage, access to care, and use of health care services by the entire US population.

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Informatics

• AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Information on programs that promote the use of health information technology. Central repository for research findings from projects developing, testing, and using health IT applications.

• American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) - Professional community that improves healthcare by advancing best practices and standards for health information management and the trusted source for education, research, and professional credentialing.

• American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) - The AMIA is the professional home for biomedical and health informatics. AMIA is dedicated to promoting the effective organization, analysis, management, and use of information in health care in support of patient care, public health, teaching, research, administration, and related policy.

• Health Communication & Informatics Research Resources - (National Cancer Institute, NIH (NCI))  - Lists links to health communication and informatics research. Topics include health informatics, health communication, cancer information, general health information, digital divide, risk communication bibliography, and conference information.

• Health Data Management - (Faulkner & Gray, Inc)  - A source of health care IT information.

• Health Improvement Institute - Reviews health Web sites and communications (e.g., public service announcements) for clarity and accuracy.

• Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) - The healthcare industry's membership organization exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.

• HIMSS Foundation - (Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) USA)  - Established in 1986, the HIMSS Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of HIMSS, providing support and assistance to the organization, its members, and the industry.

• Key Topic Guide on E-Health / Consumers & Health Care - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Explores the concept of e-health and tracks the increasing involvement of consumers in the healthcare system.

• Key Topic Guide on Electronic Health Records - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Focuses on initiatives underway to build electronic health records and a national health information network (NHIN).

• Key Topic Guide on Patient / Provider Communication - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Follows developments in the understanding of how to enhance communication between patients and providers. Communication via e-mail is a particular focus.

• NASCIO (National Association of State Chief Information Officers) - Represents state chief information officers and information technology executives and managers from the states, territories, and the District of Columbia.

• United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Metadata registry populated with data elements and information models of Standards Development Organizations (SDOs) and other healthcare organizations, so that public and private organizations can harmonize information formats with existing and emerging healthcare standards.

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Public Health

• American Public Health Association (APHA) - APHA is an Association of individuals and organizations working to improve the public's health and to achieve equity in health status for all. We promote the scientific and professional foundation of public health practice and policy, advocate the conditions for a healthy global society, emphasize prevention and enhance the ability of members to promote and protect environmental and community health.

• Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) - The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) is the only national organization representing the deans, faculty and students of the accredited member schools of public health and other programs seeking accreditation as schools of public health.

• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) - National nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia.

• Division of Public Health of The New York Academy of Medicine

• GIS and Public Health - produced by National Center for Health Statistics

• HiPHIVE - Hawaii Public Health Information Virtual Emporium

• Key Topic Guide on Public Health / Bioterrorism Alerting - (Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDA))  - Provides information on public health surveillance and bioterrorism alerting systems that are being developed within the U.S.

• National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS)

• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) - NACCHO is the national organization representing local public health agencies. NACCHO works to support efforts that protect and improve the health of all people and all communities by promoting national policy, developing resources and programs, seeking health equity and supporting effective local public health practice and systems.

• National Public Health Leadership Development Network - is a consortium of organizations represented by both academics and practitioners dedicated to building public health leadership programs and skills in order to achieve optimal health outcomes in communities.

• National Public Health Performance Standards Program (NPHPSP) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - National Partnership initiative that has developed National Public Health Performance Standards for state and local public health systems and for public health governing bodies to support performance assessment and systems improvement.

• Office of the U.S. Surgeon General

• Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce

• Public Health Foundation (PHF) - The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is dedicated to achieving healthy communities through research, training, and technical assistance. For more than 35 years, this national, non-profit organization has been creating new information and helping health agencies and other community health organizations connect to and more effectively use information to manage and improve performance, understand and use data, and strengthen the workforce.

• Public Health Functions Project, DHHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

• Public Health Institute

• Public Health Practice Program Office - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Organizational focus for external workforce development activities within CDC

• Public Health Training Network (PHTN) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - The Public Health Training Network (PHTN) is a distance learning network of people and resources that takes training and information to the learner. PHTN uses a variety of instructional media ranging from print-based to videotape and multimedia to meet the training and information needs of the health workforce nationwide.

• Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) - The Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) is an independent, international professional association made up of a diverse membership of health education professionals and students. The Society promotes healthy behaviors, healthy communities, and healthy environments through its membership, its network of local chapters, and its numerous partnerships with other organizations.

• TrainingFinder.Org - is a catalog of distance education opportunities produced by the Public Health Foundation.

• World Health News - (Harvard School of Public Health)  - Online news digest from the Center for Health Communication at the Harvard School of Public Health. The site covers critical public health issues from around the world.

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Rural Health

• Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) - (Federal Office of Rural Health Policy)  - Promotes better health care service in rural America.

• Improving Healthcare for Rural Populations - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Hospital closures and other market changes have adversely affected rural areas, leaving State and Federal policymakers, and others concerned about access to health care in rural America. Considerable changes in the health care delivery system over the past decade have intensified the need for new approaches to health care in rural areas. Managed care organizations, for example, may not be developed easily in rural areas, partly because of low population density. AHCPR is meeting these challenges through several major rural health initiatives. AHCPR's role is health services research—finding out what works best in health care for rural communities.

• Maine Rural Health Research Center - (University of Southern Maine USA)  - The mission of the Maine Rural Health Research Center is to inform health care policymaking and the delivery of rural health services through high quality, policy relevant research, policy analysis and technical assistance on rural health issues of regional and national significance.

• National Rural Health Association - National nonprofit membership organization with more than 18,000 members. The association's mission is to provide leadership on rural health issues.

• The Robert C. Byrd Center for Rural Health - (Marshall University School of Medicine)  - Serves as the base for Marshall University's rural medicine outreach programs, which directly affect more than half of West Virginia's counties.

• Rural Health - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Examines aspects of organizing, delivering, and financing care to rural populations.

• Rural Health and Emergency Preparedness - paper prepared in April 2002 by the Office of Rural Health, Health Resources and Services Administration

• Rural Health Research Gateway - Federal program that is dedicated entirely to producing policy-relevant research on health care in rural areas. Initiated in 1988, it is administered by the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration.

• The Rural Information Center (RIC) - (United States Department of Agriculture (USDA))  - Provides services for rural communities, local officials, organizations, businesses and rural citizens working to maintain the vitality of America's rural areas.

• Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) - (University of Missouri-Columbia USA)  - Provides unbiased analysis and information on the challenges, needs, and opportunities facing rural America.

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State Resources

• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) - National nonprofit organization representing the state and territorial public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and the District of Columbia.

• Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) - (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC))  - Ongoing data collection system that collects state-level data.

• Florida HealthFinder - (State of Florida USA)  - A web-based tool which allows easy access to comprehensive Florida health care information.

• Healthy People 2010 Toolkit - (Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) U.S.)  - Provides guidance, technical tools, and resources to help states, territories, and tribes develop and promote successful state-specific Healthy People 2010 plans. It can also serve as a resource for communities and other entities embarking on similar health planning endeavors.

• Information for State Health Policy Program - (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF))  - Site is intended to help interested parties (inclusive of health care policy makers, state officials, health care employees, health providers, insurers, consumers, etc.) locate Model Reports and Standards for health statistical information, experience electronic Query submittal, and locate related health information resources.

• Kaiser Family Foundation's State Health Facts Online - Contains the latest state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy, including health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation.

• Maryland Health Care Commission - (State of Maryland (MD) USA)  - Independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs,promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability,cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers and the public.

• Minnesota Data Collection and Sources - (Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA))  - Database of nearly 5 million records dating back to 1980 for Twin Cities metropolitan hospitals.

• National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) - Independent academy of state health policymakers working together to identify emerging issues, develop policy solutions, and improve state health policy and practice.

• National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) - Bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas on the most pressing state issues.

• NCSL's Health Policy Issues - (National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL))  - The NCSL health programs and staff collect information related to many state and federal health issues. The programs track legislative action in the states, identify new and important research and the effects on public policy and disseminates information about state innovations.

• The Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) - (Bureau of the Census U.S.)  - This program provides model-based estimates of health insurance coverage for counties and states. The data are extracted from several Census Bureau datasets. For example, they model health insurance coverage as measured by the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey (CPS).

• State & Local Policymakers - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - The User Liaison Program disseminates health services research findings for state and local health policymakers.

• State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP): Implementing Effective Programs and Understanding - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Online learning program with six modules and suggestions on how to use. Designed to assist State health policymakers in understanding the dynamics of State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) implementation as well as accessing and using research findings to develop and implement their SCHIP programs.

• State Coverage Initiatives - (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF))  - Provides experience-based information and assistance to state leaders in order to help them move health care reform forward at the state level.

• State Data Centers - (Bureau of the Census U.S.)  - The State Data Centers (SDCs) are official sources of demographic, economic, and social statistics produced by the Census Bureau. The SDC program between the states and the Census Bureau was created to make data available locally to the public through a network of state agencies, universities, libraries, and regional and local governments.

• State Data Resources - (Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) U.S.)  - Links to individual state health data sources.

• State Government and Politics - (University of Michigan Library)  - An interesting jumping off Web page of links arranged by state governments, state legislatures, public policy and special topics.

• State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) - (University of Minnesota)  - provides a focal point for coordination of state survey activities on the uninsured (funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the University of Minnesota School of Public Health).

• State Hospital Associations - (American Hospital Association (AHA))  - Links to state hospital associations.

• State Inpatient Databases (SID) - (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ))  - Contains the universe of the inpatient discharge abstracts in participating States, translated into a uniform format to facilitate multi-State comparisons and analyses.

• State Libraries - (Library of Congress)  - This page brings together links to state libraries, state library agencies, state library networks, or state library commissions across the United States.

• State Rural Health Association Information - (National Rural Health Association (NRHA))  - Each SRHA focuses exclusively on improving the health and well-being of rural Americans living in their state, and also serves as a conduit for rural communities to communicate needs and successes at a regional and national level.

• States in Action - (Commonwealth Fund)  - Part of a Commonwealth Fund initiative on state innovations.

• Virginia Health Information (VHI) - (Virginia Health Information (VHI) USA)  - A nonprofit that provides Virginia-centered health information. Qualifying organizations can license data files (e.g., Virginia hospital discharge data, Annual Licensure Survey Data from hospitals, nursing facilities and ambulatory surgical centers) for research-specific projects or for general public use.

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