Is the DFWHC Foundation a nonprofit organization?

Yes, it is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.

Can you tell us a little bit about your history?

The DFWHC Foundation was established in 1968 as a non-profit corporation to promote safe, high quality, cost effective, accessible and equitable healthcare by strengthening our healthcare workforce and improving the public’s health.

How is the DFWHC Foundation related to the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council?

The DFWHC Foundation operates under the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council umbrella. Established to answer the growing need in healthcare for high quality, standardized data to measure value and quality improvements, the DFWHC Foundation today has expanded to include public health, research and workforce initiatives.

What is IQSC?

The Information Quality Services Center (IQSC) provides high quality, standardized data to measure value, improve deliver or care, improve health of our community, prevent disease and promote patient safety. The IQSC, also formally known as the Data Initiative (DI), was established in 1997 to address the growing need in the health care community for high quality, standardized data and to be a catalyst for continual improvement in healthcare delivery and public health. The IQSC is governed by the North Texas Health Information and Quality Collaborative (NTHIQC) which is comprised of participating hospital executives. The collaborative currently has more than 80 facilities from the North Texas region participating.

How do I contact IQSC for more information?

The general email address for IQSC is datahelp@dfwhcfoundation.org.
You can also email our Director, Theresa Mendoza, directly at tmendoza@dfwhcfoundation.org.

What data services does IQSC offer?

The services provided by the IQSC encompass many different layers including data collection and analysis, education on quality measurement and practice improvement, and general consultation.

Through our products and services we offer a unique way for our members to cleanse, submit, and investigate their inpatient and outpatient data. We also act as a submission agent for our members and assist facilities in meeting the Texas Health Care Information Collection (THCIC) legislative mandate.

We are experienced in “Big Data” and we offer robust tools that allow users to analyze over 100 inpatient quality and market metrics, preventable emergency room visits, and over 160 public health metrics. We also have the ability to apply SAS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Algorithms, and application of the New York University (NYU) Emergency Room Algorithm which probabilistically assigns cases in the ER to four main care level categories.

In addition, we have also nurtured a mature Regional Master Patient Index for the North Texas region through that identifies more than 9 million unique patients; this tool performs analysis of regional admission profiles giving hospitals the ability to implement operational and treatment modifications for patients identified as high risk of readmission.

What is the purpose and benefit of MyIQ Analytics?

MyIQ Analytics provides hospitals that submit data to the DFWHC Foundation a fast, secure, and manageable data analytics tool for retrieving actionable information about individual and region wide Market Share, Physician Analysis, Quality, 30 Day Post Discharge Readmission and Mortality.

If you are currently participating with the Foundation and do not have access to MyIQ Analytics, please contact our Product Manager, Greg Shelton, for more information at gshelton@dfwhcfoundation.org.

How does the data submission process work to THCIC?

The submitter loads the data into the data correction tool and submits to the Dallas Fort-Worth Hospital Council Foundation (Foundation). The Foundation receives the data and submits the data to Texas Healthcare Information Collection Agency (THCIC). If a file is rejected DFWHC works with the submitter, corrects the file, and re-submits the data.

Do I need to request Secure File Transfer (SFT) Access?

Only participants and approved researchers can request access to the SFT. The SFT meets the most current HIPAA and FISMA security standards. If a user needs to send protected private data to the Foundation for review or the Foundation needs to send protected data to a member hospital, the SFT would be the transmission method.

All approved data submitters should have access to SFT. Apply for SFT by visiting the following link: https://external.dfwhc.org/Pages/DFWHC.aspx

What can my facility do now to prepare for ICD-10?

Sign up for CMS ICD-10 Industry Email updates at www.cms.gov and continue working toward creating an 837 file with ICD-10 data to test with the Foundation.

Who is the Texas Health Care Information Collection (THCIC) agency?

The THCIC was created by the 74th Texas Legislature in 1995. THCIC’s primary purpose is to provide data that will enable Texas consumers and health plan purchasers to make informed health care decisions. THCIC’s charge is to collect data and report on the quality performance of hospitals and health maintenance organizations operating in Texas. The goal is to provide information that will enable consumers to have an impact on the cost and quality of health care in Texas. http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/thcic/GeneralInfo.shtm

How often is data released or updated?

The Foundation released data to participants on a monthly and quarterly basis and we pride ourselves on a fairly quick turnaround. Monthly reports are released 75 days from the close of a month. For example, January data would be released by April 15th in the same year.

Quarterly data is released 90 days close of quarter, so that Quarter 1 data would be available by June 1st.

Can I request data for analysis or research?

Data request for research and analysis are only available to participants with whom we have the appropriate agreements in place. We can however release data for research purposes through our research approval process and IRB’s that have been previously obtained or deemed unnecessary by an IRB approval committee.

If you are interested in submitting a form to request data for research, please email our Research Department at: research@dfwhcfoundation.org