Roles of the federal and state governments in outcomes assessment.

Both federal and state governments have mandates to collect, analyze, and disseminate health care information. The federal government is the single largest payer for health care and health services research. Its agencies, the Healthcare Finance Administration (HCFA) and the Agency for Healthcare Policy Research (AHCPR) play a major role in shaping information strategies for all health care stakeholders. State governments are among those stakeholders and are fertile grounds for experimentation, change, and learning. Building effective federal-state partnerships and public-private partnerships can help foster innovation in health data collection and analysis, as well as identify new strategies for information dissemination.