Data Management and Dissemination

ICF International manages resources for health data using both process improvement and information technology. We design, develop, and implement information management architectures and data structures that support individual client requirements. Through collaboration with all stakeholders, ICF defines the logical entities and data dependencies that are key components of how the data is organized. We support the full data life cycle needs of clients, including the conversion of paper documentation into electronic format for archival, backup, and retrieval.

ICF works with clients to maintain data security while enhancing the availability of material to appropriate personnel throughout an organization. Effective and efficient data management lowers costs by improving access to necessary information while simultaneously reducing the risk of data loss or compromise. We have proven expertise in protecting patient privacy in accordance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) standards and in safeguarding other Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

ICF also supports information dissemination with specific emphasis on outreach to special populations. Health information communicated to the public must be both accurate and timely and reach its intended audiences. Our support for information dissemination includes careful consideration of target audiences. Our health informatics team includes linguistically and culturally competent staff equipped, for example, to develop Web content in Spanish or to distill complex health recommendations into easy-to-read fact sheets for low-literacy readers.

Selected Projects in Data Management and Dissemination

• Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Program Information Resources Management

• Office of the Surgeon General, Medical Reserve Corps

• National Institutes of Health Web Site Support and Maintenance

• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chronic Care Improvement-Information Management System

• Support for Biomedical and Clinical Information Services for the National Library of Medicine and Other NIH Institutes and Centers

• National Cancer Institute, Cancer Information Analysis and Tracking

Administration on Developmental Disabilities, Administration for Children and Families, Program Information Resources Management

ICF supplies key infrastructure and staffing to the Administration on Developmental Disabilities (ADD), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF). ADD's mission is to improve and increase services to individuals with developmental disabilities. ICF supports ADD and its mission on the Program Information Resources Management (PIRM) contract by producing and generating reporting systems, Web site development and content, publications, and informational materials. In collaboration with ADD, ICF designs, enhances, and maintains ADD's reporting system using the HHS Online Data Collection (OLDC) tool. Our staff members produce comprehensive statistical and analytical reports from data collected in the tool. ICF also manages all aspects of publication development for ADD, including the Bi-Annual Report to Congress, the President, and the National Council on Disability.

ADD's Web sites serve as a crucial tool for providing information to ADD's grantees, the disability community, and the general public. ICF deployed the redesign of ADD's external Web site, worked to restructure and redesign the ADD intranet, and ensured all Internet and intranet content was Section 508 compliant. In addition, we created an innovative map application to provide a user-friendly way to extract information related to each state's individual programs.

Office of the Surgeon General, Medical Reserve Corps

ICF provides health informatics expertise, specifically programs training and technical assistance, to the Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (OCVMRC). Sponsored by the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG), the OCVMRC functions as a clearinghouse for information and guidance to help communities establish, implement, and maintain Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units nationwide. The MRC is a national network of locally organized volunteers committed to improving the health, safety, and emergency preparedness response capabilities of their communities. ICF’s public health workforce has helped to establish and maintain more than 800 MRC units nationwide. Collectively, these units include more than 180,000 medical and public health experts.

ICF designs and develops technology-based solutions to meet the program's needs in communication, outreach, and reporting. We designed, developed, operate, maintain, and manage the MRC Web site and its underlying relational database. ICF enhanced the Web site with geographic information system (GIS) mapping capability, providing OCVMRC with information on the location and jurisdiction of MRC units. The GIS capability also provides critical decision support via on-demand data visualization features to perform population analyses, support situational awareness at the national and regional levels, perform impact analyses, and demonstrate federal deployment capability.

National Institutes of Health Web Site Support and Maintenance

ICF provides health informatics services to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL) in the Office of the Director (OD) for the main NIH Web site, the Health Information Portal (HIP), NIH Events Calendar, and the Employee Information site. ICF’s data management and dissemination services include strategic, analytical, planning, technical, and evaluation support for the design and development of Web sites and health information databases. ICF provides Web strategy, promotes best practices for Web communications, and develops innovative approaches to the dissemination of health information based on the research funded by NIH. ICF also provides Web site maintenance support using HTML, XML, and internally developed content management systems, and addresses all data accessibility requirements. Using our expertise in user-centered design techniques and the Rational Unified Process (RUP) for software development, ICF has built custom database applications to enhance OCPL’s critical information management and delivery channels.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chronic Care Improvement-Information Management System

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needed a private, secure, and robust process to transmit sensitive chronic care beneficiary and claim data among cost reduction contractors. ICF designed and developed the Chronic Care Improvement-Information Management System (CCI-IMS), a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant online transaction processing (OLTP) system implemented to facilitate smooth integration of beneficiary and claim data between the CMS and the Medicare Health Support Organizations (MHSOs). Additionally, to facilitate data management and dissemination, our team developed a multi-terabyte operational data store and data warehouse to store information from varied sources. Oracle databases are used to store financial claims, clinical measures, operational measures, and drug-related data as facts and dimensions. All data is stored in a highly secure, multi-tier environment, and the CCI-IMS uses well-defined processes to securely de-identify and disseminate personal health data. During the implementation, CCI-IMS passed the most rigorous external penetration testing ever conducted on a system developed for HHS.

ICF also developed an online analytical processing (OLAP) system using Cognos, which enabled the client to mine data and perform complex analyses. Additionally, the IMS delivers pre-scheduled reports, allowing CMS to track program performance. All work products are fully compliant with the CMS Integrated IT Investment and System Life Cycle Framework (ILC). The CCI-IMS is the first project at CMS to be awarded a Security Certificate "Internal System Accreditation" to operate based on a complete 3-Zone architecture implementation. The CMS project has been certified at CMMI Level 3.

Support for Biomedical and Clinical Information Services for the National Library of Medicine and Other National Institutes of Health Institutes and Centers

Through this multi-dimensional contract, ICF provides National Institutes of Health (NIH) clients with a wide array of services, including data collection and analysis, information dissemination, database/data management and analysis, Web site development, call center operations, meeting services, system support, and outreach initiatives. Our multi-disciplinary team of subject matter experts, technical specialists, and project managers exemplifies the integrative field of health informatics and is the foundation for our support for this contract. Among other NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs), clients include the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), and the Office of Rare Disease Research (ORDR). Working with these clients, ICF supports key programs related to HIV/AIDS, genetics, cancer, rare diseases, dietary supplements, clinical trials, treatment guidelines, and other important federal health initiatives that focus on the acquisition, preservation, and dissemination of biomedical knowledge for the benefit of the public’s health.

National Cancer Institute Cancer Information Analysis and Tracking

The Cancer Information Analysis and Tracking (CIAT) project is a critical component to help the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Office of Cancer Content Management (OCCM) conduct its mission to capture and disseminate state-of-the-science information about cancer research results and research in progress to biomedical professionals, cancer patients and their families, and the general public. ICF collects, abstracts, indexes, organizes, updates, maintains, and assists with the development of information contained in the Physician Data Query (PDQ) database, which includes peer-reviewed summaries of cancer-related information, a searchable database of cancer clinical trials, and information about physicians and organizations associated with cancer treatment and clinical trials.PDQ information.

We collaborate with OCCM in the ongoing development, maintenance, and delivery of information contained in the PDQ and ensure its accuracy, timeliness, and completeness. ICF also supports OCCM with reaching a growing audience of health information seekers. ICF assists six PDQ Editorial Boards with developing and maintaining summaries of information about adult and pediatric cancer treatment, screening, prevention, supportive care, genetics, and complementary and alternative medicine. We also assist OCCM with enhancing the usability and search capability of OCCM information products through the continued development and application of sophisticated terminology structures used to index information for retrieval; these include the PDQ Terminology file, the Dictionary of Cancer Terms, and the NCI Drug Dictionary.