The CMS has created a website to make it easier for researchers to access federal data on Medicare patients, targeting those with multiple chronic conditions.
According to acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, the new Medicare Chronic Conditions Dashboard focuses on the “more than two thirds of Medicare patients (who) “have multiple chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes” a percentage that Tavenner, in a news release, said is expected to rise.
HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh, also in the statement, said the Web-based tool “provides new and critical data that can help us develop better patient-centered approaches to improve health outcomes, lower costs, and maximize quality of life.”
In calendar year 2011, spending for Medicare beneficiaries with two or more chronic conditions was about $276 billion, about 93% of all Medicare spending, the CMS statement said.
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