Estimated Time to Complete: 1-2 Business Days
Timeline Month(s): Month 1- Month 3
Background
The MedRIC Study Partnership Form collects basic information about your study or survey, including whether you have consent to use your participants’ Medicare and/or Medicaid data for research purposes.
The National Institute of Aging (NIA) then uses your responses to assess whether a partnership is feasible.
Your Action Item(s)
NOTE: We will then forward your completed form to NIA for review and either approval or rejection.
Estimated Time to Complete: 3 Months
Timeline Month(s): Month 1 - Month 3
Background
If NIA approves your partnership request, we will notify you and prompt you to complete three legal agreements:
All forms are DocuSign forms, which you will access through a set of links listed in the steps below.
Your Action Item(s)
Access, sign, and complete the MedRIC MOU.
Access, sign, and complete the MDHSA.
Access, sign, and complete the PSA.
NOTE: Once we have countersigned the agreement, DocuSign will notify you of our signatures, and a member of our team will contact you about next steps.
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-4 Months
Timeline Month(s): Month 1 - Month 4
Background
As a MedRIC data partner, you will need to authorize other researchers to access your study or survey participants' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) data. You may also need to tell us what MedRIC encryption level of CMS data (whether Standard, Geographic, or Provider) to provide to those researchers.
For these reasons, you'll need to either establish a data authorization process that includes approving access to CMS data or adapt an existing process to include this approval.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 2 Months
Timeline Month(s): Month 3 - Month 4
Background
We need a finder file from you to link your cohort to CMS's enrollment records.
If possible, your finder file should include the following demographics variables: CMS Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN), Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI), Social Security Number (SSN), first name, last name, date of birth, race, and residential Zip Code(s).
In terms of file format, we can process SAS or CSV file formats.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 2-3 Weeks
Timeline Month(s): Month 5
Background
To request our CMS data sets to support your data collection work, you will need to submit all NIA DUA request materials, which consist of:
NOTE: NIA Partner DUAs authorize you to use CMS data to support your study or survey data collection work, not CMS data research. If you need CMS data for research purposes, you will need to establish an NIA Researcher DUA, using the guidelines in Make a New CMS Data Request.
*This form is a DocuSign form, which you will access through a link in Step 1 below. For all file-based forms, you will access them through downloadable file links in Step 2 below.
Your Action Item(s)
Access, complete, and sign the DocuSign-based NIA DUA Form.
Download and complete the following file-based form and file-based guidelines:
Estimated Time to Complete: 1-3 Weeks, Depending On Your Timeline for Revising Your Materials
Timeline Month(s): Month 5 - Month 6
Background
We will review your NIA DUA request materials and provide initial feedback to you within seven (7) business days. If you need to revise and resubmit your request, we will provide feedback to you within five (5) business days.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 2 Weeks
Timeline Month(s): Month 5
Background
Linking your study or survey data to CMS data could pose re-identification risks to your study or survey participants. To help you manage these risks, we've developed a Variable Encryption Specifications Workbook, which enables you to tell us whether to aggregate, blank, drop, or encrypt categories of CMS variables. In case you’re unfamiliar with CMS data, the Workbook also has our experts’ recommendations for encrypting categories of CMS variables.
Once you complete the Workbook and return it to us, we will use it to encrypt the CMS administrative records of your study or survey participants prior to distributing these records to other researchers.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 3 Weeks
Timeline Month(s): Month 5 - Month 6
Background
We will present your MedRIC data request to the NIA Privacy Board in a weekly meeting for their review and approval. We will notify you of the Board's decision and if additional edits are needed. If the Board approves your request, the Board will issue a data use agreement (DUA) to you.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 5 Business Days
Timeline Month(s): Month 6 - Month 7
Background
After NIA issues you your NIA DUA, we will:
Once we've transferred your files and documentation to the Enclave, you'll receive your account onboarding email.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: 15 Minutes
Timeline Month(s): Month 7
Background
Our Web support team will send an account configuration email to the address that your Compliance Officer specified for you.
Your Action Item(s)
Estimated Time to Complete: Ongoing
Timeline Month(s): Month 7 - Ongoing
Background
You will need to authorize every researcher request for the CMS data of your survey participants. You can do so via an email, letter, or form.
Your Action Item(s)
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