The Research Data Core (RDC) provides a relational database produced from Tennessee Medicaid and TennCare. The database includes Medicaid enrollment, Medicaid and TennCare professional and institutional encounters and pharmacy records. Medicaid enrollment is augmented with information from birth, death and fetal death certificates through a probabilistic linkage. Medical encounters are augmented with Medicare and Hospital Discharge Data System records.
This database has potential for use in pharmacoepidemiology or program evaluation, and can be used by VUMC faculty for research purposes. Please read below for additional information about these data and frequently asked questions.
-
Medicaid is a federal program, funded by both federal and state governments and administered by the state government. Medicaid provides a degree of medical care which varies state by state to low-income families or individuals.
The RDC includes Tennessee Medicaid enrollment, institutional and professional records and pharmacy records since 1974.
-
TennCare is the managed care implementation of Tennessee Medicaid. A description of the TennCare program is at https://www.tn.gov/tenncare/article/tenncare-overview
The RDC includes TennCare encounters and pharmacy records since its inception, January 1, 1994.
-
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for people who are age 65 and for some younger people with certain specified disabilities. Medicare enrollment includes some or all of the following categories:
Part A - hospitalization or skilled nursing care
Part B - physician and other professional services
Part C - Medicare Advantage Plans
Part D - prescription drugs
The RDC includes Medicare Part A records selected for Tennessee Medicaid enrollees for the period from 1993 through October 1999.
Beginning in 2006 the RDC includes Medicare enrollment and Part D records selected for Tennessee Medicaid enrollees.
-
The Hospital Discharge Data System (HDDS) is a database of all hospital and emergency department discharges in Tennessee. A description of the HDDS program is at https://www.tn.gov/health/article/statistics-hdds
The RDC includes HDDS records since 1998.
-
The Tennessee Office of Vital Records maintains records of all births and deaths occurring within the state plus many of the births and deaths occurring outside Tennessee but to Tennessee residents.
The RDC includes birth certificate records, death certificate records and fetal death certificate records since 1974.
-
You must complete a checklist to secure necessary approvals required to use the RDC for any research. Please reach out to a director for additional information.
-
Yes, there are costs associated with accessing and using the Data Core. Please contact a Data Core director for additional information.
-
No, unfortunately the RDC is only available for use within the Vanderbilt Medical Center community.
-
No, all protected data is stored on a secure server. No files containing any protected health information will be available to download.
-
We cannot give you copies of any research files if they contain any protected health information. They will remain on our server for one year after the funding ends for your projects. At that point they will be deleted and we will keep backup copies for seven years.