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Why You Should Attend this Workshop

For those familiar with Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims data, previous assumptions researchers held while working with FFS claims data may not apply to encounter data.  This workshop will walk through important similarities and differences between claims data and encounter data.

Many of the workshop elements will be easier to assimilate by participants familiar with using Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) or other claims data for research; however, previous experience with Medicare data is not required.  This workshop will not include interactive exercises.

Educational Objectives:
  • Gain background knowledge about the Medicare Advantage program relevant to understanding the underlying population (denominator) and how it compares to FFS Medicare.
  • Gain background knowledge about how the processing and construction of Medicare Advantage encounter data research files impacts use, particularly when compared to FFS claims.
  • Understand the differences between encounter/Part C data and FFS claims data, the fields contained within each, and the inference that can be gained from each type of data when used together or for comparison.
  • Be equipped with strategies for assessing the impact of various analytic decisions on findings from studies using Medicare Advantage encounter data.