THCIC begins collection of emergency room data

The Texas Health Care Information Collection Agency (THCIC) will begin collection of emergency room data to measure preventable emergency room visits. They will be required to submit a report of their findings to legislators on an annual basis beginning Dec. 31, 2014. THCIC has not announced when they will begin collection of this data from hospitals and stand-alone emergency rooms.

In North Texas, we are fortunate to already collect emergency room data in our North Texas Health Information Collaborative (NTHIQC). This means there will be very little impact on our facilities to meet state requirements. Since we have already been collecting this data and performing analysis for our collaborative, THCIC has reached out to the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Foundation (DFWHC Foundation) for ideas on setting up the collection process and data analysis.



Through our robust business intelligence tool, MyIQ Analytics, we know a minimum of 40-50 percent of emergency room visits are preventable, non-emergent or primary care treatable. The DFWHC Foundation is working with the NTHIQC and Community Health Collaborative to identify hot spots. This will allow us to collectively impact care delivery and ensure resources are available to prevent patients from feeling as though the emergency room is their only resource for medical care.