The Department of Health and Human Services Office on Disability has announced the establishment of a new Center of Excellence in Research on Disability Services, Care Coordination and Integration.

Made possible thanks to more than $6 million disbursed from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the center will identify data sources, evaluate the usability of data, conduct research and disseminate scientifically and clinically relevant information to help patients, providers, policy makers, consumers, caregivers, and family members make better decisions on health care.

One of the key components of the effort will be a collaboration with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Chronic Conditions Warehouse (CCW), with an aim toward building the infrastructure necessary to support and conduct research on the comparative effectiveness of systems of care for people with disabilities.  

"With the establishment of a Center of Excellence in Research on Disability Services, Care Coordination and Integration, we will make necessary data improvements to better understand health and support services for people with disabilities," said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "The data collected will allow the Office on Disability and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine the effectiveness of different services and supports being provided, and in turn, improve care for people with disabilities."

The contract for the center has been awarded to the Princeton, N.J.-based Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., which "strives to improve public well-being by bringing the highest standards of quality, objectivity, and excellence to bear on the provision of information collection and analysis to our clients," according to its mission statement.

"By linking existing Medicaid data sources and other datasets relevant to disability to the CCW, the Center will increase the analytic utility of CCW information for research on people with disabilities and/or chronic conditions," said Rosaly Correa-de-Araujo, MD, deputy director of the Office on Disability and the technical and scientific lead of the initiative.

In addition, Medicaid data – state plan and waiver services supplied by specific states – will be assessed and used to identify and propose ways to achieve greater consistency on how services are used and defined.

"This is a unique initiative that creates a broad array of future opportunities in comparative effectiveness research in the field of disability services, including those related to rehabilitation, behavioral and psychosocial interventions," said Correa-de-Araujo. "We look forward to advancing science and enhancing services and supports that benefit people with disabilities."