Graduate workshop: Health economics data and research from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) produces a wealth of data and other resources that support research across health economics, epidemiology, health services research, and related fields. On April 25, the Brookings Center on Regulation and Markets will hold a workshop for young scholars to explore these topics.

The workshop will introduce participants to a number of AHRQ’s core datasets, with a focus on how they may be used to support research in health economics by graduate students and early-stage scholars. Each data source will be presented by an AHRQ analytical staff member who is both involved in its production and who uses it in their own research. Examples of research projects using the various data sources will also be presented, and presenters include a student scholar, who will also share her experience as a user. This workshop will also include an overview of how AHRQ data has been used to support policy decisions in the past and of research avenues of special interest to AHRQ.

AGENDA

1:00 pm Welcome remarks

• Richard G. Frank, Director, USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy and Senior Fellow, Economic Studies
• Leemore Dafny, Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Joel Cohen, Director, Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

1:20 pm Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) – Household Component (HC)

• Data overview from Asako Moriya (AHRQ)
• Research example from Amanda Su (Stanford University): The Impact of Paid Family Leave on Families with Health Shocks

2:05 pm Break

2:10 pm Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)

• Data overview from Pam Owens (AHRQ)
• Research example from Joanna Jiang (AHRQ): Impact of Rural Hospital Mergers and Acquisitions on Access and Quality of Care 

3:00 pm Break

3:10 pm MEPS-Insurance Component (IC)

• Data overview and research example from Thomas Hegland (AHRQ): Same-Sex Marriage and Employer Choices About Domestic Partner Benefits

3:50 pm Break

4:00 pm AHRQ: Data Innovations 

• Overview of AHRQ’s Newest Databases from Herb Wong (AHRQ)
  • Synthetic Healthcare Data for Research (SyH-DR)
  • Physician and Physician Practice Research Database (3P-RD)
  • Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Database
  • Compendium of U.S. Health Systems

4:30 pm Breakout sessions

There will be one room for each of the topics: MCPS-HC, HCUP, MEPS-IC, and AHRQ: Data Innovations. These rooms will be available for more extended discussions about the data sources, and presenters will answer any questions participants might have.

5:00 pm Program adjourns