Each year since 2009, NAHDO has honored an organization with the distinguished Innovation in Data Dissemination Award. The NAHDO Board of Directors established this award to recognize the importance of effectively communicating health data to the public.
While the Elliot M. Stone Award of Excellence in Health Leadership is intended for an individual, the Innovation in Data Dissemination Award is designed to be awarded to an organization. The NAHDO Board of Directors established this award in 2009 to recognize the importance of effectively communicating health data to the public. Eligible organizations may be government agencies, non-profit organizations, or for-profit companies, and data dissemination efforts might include Websites, advertising campaigns, written reports, or a combination of these and other communication initiatives.
2024 Recipients
The Nevada Department of Health and Humans Services, Office of Analytics - Data Portal
The Office of Analytics, which was formed in 2021, created and published the NV DHHS Data Portal in January of 2023. The idea was to get data out to the public on several topics and to do it in a consistent away across DHHS programs. Users will notice that for the spectrum of programs that are contained in DHHS in Nevada, the office tried to ensure that all dashboards have similar branding, color theme, content, navigation, etc. and that they are accessible in a single place. For the most part, each dashboard has tabs for: Overview, Current Status, Trends, and Demographics. Within those tabs, the data is presented consistently in terms of what is displayed.
The core concept is that users can quickly recognize the standardized display format and easily pivot between topics and get relevant data in a consistent way, whether they are from the DHHS Directors Office, the Governor’s Office, Legislature, etc. All dashboards were built using the COVID-19 dashboard as inspiration but expanded based on the data requests that the office was filling repetitiously, based on request tracking in a project management software.
One dashboard in particular that has gained a lot of attention are the Community Health Profiles, which is updated every 2 years in preparation for the biennial legislative session. This one is a bit different from the most popular template/design, because it is intended to consider data by specific assembly, senate, and congressional districts for a wide array of topics, and compare a relative ranking for each indicator across geographies. These portal has received kudos from other states and even Canada on the ease of use and display. Given NAHDO's recent emphasis on supporting legislative relations, we recognize the Office for this innovative way of building a bridge between data and policy.
The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner - Mental Health Dashboards Initiative
The Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) was nominated for their groundbreaking Washington All-Payer Health Care Claims Database (WA-APCD) Mental Health Dashboards initiative, a collaborative effort that has significantly advanced how mental health data is publicly shared, making it more accessible and more usable to elevate its impact. These dashboards represent a new approach to leveraging health data to improve mental health services and outcomes.
Key reasons why the Washington OIC deserves this award include:
- Innovative application of APCD data. The WA-APCD Mental Health Dashboards leverage data from the state’s APCD to show a multifaceted view of mental health trends, utilization patterns, and outcomes. By analyzing claims for all state-regulated health plans, including public and school employee benefits programs, the WA OIC has created a holistic picture of WA’s mental healthcare landscape, enabling informed decision-making and resource allocation.
- User-centric design and accessibility. The Washington OIC has demonstrated a commitment to user-centric design principles, ensuring that the dashboards are intuitive, interactive, and accessible to a wide range of stakeholders, including policymakers, healthcare providers, researchers, and the public. The dashboards have user-friendly interfaces, offer customizable visualizations, and provide clear explanations of complex data.
- Timely and actionable insights. The dashboards explore how costs and utilization vary across a range of factors, including care setting, geography, mental health condition, and time. This reporting, which spans the COVID pandemic, provides insights into mental health trends and disparities, empowering stakeholders to identify areas for intervention, monitor the impact of interventions over time, and adjust strategies. By delivering regularly refreshed and actionable data, the dashboards allow stakeholders to be responsive to changing needs, supporting more equitable mental health policies and programs.
- Partnership and knowledge sharing. To develop the dashboards, the WA OIC fostered partnerships with state agencies, healthcare organizations, academic institutions, and community stakeholders, including a partnership with the WA Health Care Authority, which oversees the WA-APCD. Through these partnerships, the WA OIC has fostered knowledge sharing, expanded institutional capacity, and driven continuous improvement.
Past recipients
2011 - Virginia Health Information (VHI)
2012 - Department of Health and Human Services Health Data Initiative (HDI)
2013 - Center for Improving Value in Health Care (CIVHC) & Treo Solutions
2015 - No Award
2016 - Maine Health Data Organization
2017 - No Award
2018 - Washington All-Payer Claims Database’s new HealthCareCompare website
2019 - Indiana Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA)
2020 - Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative
2021 - New England States Consortium Systems Organization & Delaware Health Information Network
2024 - Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner