Data Books for Monitoring the Safety Net

1
Data Books for Monitoring the Safety Net

• Robert Seifert
• Policy Director
• The Access Project
• Boston, MA

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Refreshment for the Data-thirsty

• Local data to monitor the safety net are needed
  but elusive
• Data books provide a common focal point for
  policy discussions
• Helps overcome the isolation of local health care
  systems and problems

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The Value of Local Data

• Tell a local story
• Show variation within geographic areas
• Find peer communities that might serve as examples

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The Value of Local DataLimited English
Proficiency in Hartford, CT MSA
Source Census 2000 MSAMetropolitan Statistical
Area
5
The Value of Local DataLimited English
Proficiency within Hartford, CT MSA
Source Census 2000 MSAMetropolitan Statistical
Area
6
The Elusiveness of Local Data

• Why dont you have . . . in the data book?
• The importance of multiple measures
• As proxies
• For strategic purposes

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How to Use the Data

• For comparisons, as markers
• The beginning of the story, not the end
• Avoid the measurement trap
• Get the rest of the story directly from the
  community