CAREWare in the Field:

Solving the Challenge of Integrating Third Party Data

The Denver, CO Part A grantee has created a software interface that imports client-level data into CAREWare from other software platforms. Better yet, they are ready to share it with other Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees.

Since 2000, the Denver EMA, (now a Transitional Grant Area, or TGA) has used CAREWare, a software application developed by HRSA/HAB to manage information and monitor HIV care. As a TGA funding other organizations, the challenge Denver faced was how to collect data from subgrantees, especially hospitals and large providers not using CAREWare to manage HIV client information. Various options were explored, including hiring staff to go to each subgrantee to enter data directly into CAREWare. Ultimately, the Denver TGA contracted with JProg, the developer of CAREWare, to create a third-party import module. The module template is easy to prepare and imports data as if it were keyed directly into CAREWare.

With the Denver Import, the Denver Mayor’s Office of HIV Resources now has access to all client-level data in a single unduplicated centralized database. Using a common encrypted unique record number (eURN), the TGA can now check client usage across providers and/or service categories. Use of this module will also allow Denver to move from just using CAREWare as a reporting tool to using it as a clinical tool, where the care provided and services consumers access can be linked over time. The Denver TGA plans to add some quality management indicators, which will help subgrantees assess their clients’ level of care. While the Denver Mayor’s Office of HIV Resources developed the third-party import module with its own funds, the module will be made available to all Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grantees in the near future. Denver is also planning to conduct a workshop on use of the Denver Import process at 2008 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Grantee Meeting.

For more information on Denver’s third party import module contact Phillip Byrne, IT System Administrator, Denver Environmental Health by email or by phone at (720)865-5388.