All-payer claims databases: state initiatives to improve health care transparency.

States are facing increasing health care challenges, from variable quality of care to ever-increasing costs. Comprehensive information on disease incidence, treatment costs, and health outcomes is essential for informing and evaluating state health policies, but it is not readily available. To address these information needs, some states are developing all-payer claims databases (APCDs), and these systems are proving to be valuable information sources. As more states implement APCDs, efforts will be made to standardize common data elements that will improve the comparability of data from state to state. The National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO) and the Regional All Payer Healthcare Information Council (RAPHIC) are coordinating a multistate effort to support state APCD initiatives and shape state reporting systems to be capable of supporting a broad range of information needs. This brief is based on this ongoing work with states and reflects current knowledge about states' APCD initiatives.