Health data collection and verification in a collaborative model: development of a position paper on cardiac catheterization laboratories by the Rocky Mountain Heart Consortium.

The framework of cooperation and collaboration enabled a unique voluntary organization of health care providers and consumers to develop and publish a position paper regarding the utilization of cardiac catheterization laboratories in the state of Colorado. The collection and analysis of valid, consistent, and comparable administrative health data provided the basis for recommendations regarding current utilization of cardiac catheterization laboratories, assessment of need by geographic area, and development of criteria for the establishment of additional laboratories. The article describes the methodology used to collect and analyze health data on a statewide basis, the issues of data reliability and validity that resulted, and the process of public release of such data.