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Data at CMS

These sections of the CMS Technical Reference Architecture (TRA) consolidate guidance and policy information regarding data — its management, storage, and consumption by users and application systems.

The content is organized within the following sections:

Introduction to Data Management

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Enterprise Data Environment (EDE) data strategy addresses data management and the Enterprise Data Mesh. The strategy seeks to incorporate shared costs across multiple CMS Centers to build shared services. It depicts a notional framework that organizes data management capabilities, data governance policies, and data user support services. It includes core components that support CMS’s infrastructure and enterprise shared data. The overall framework seeks to keep costs down while encouraging data reuse, better data quality, faster DevOps, advanced security management, and improved adaptability. In addition, this framework supports part of the risk-based management framework and the requirements of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-37 Rev. 2., Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy

Effectively securing and managing enterprise data is accomplished by implementing consistent data management methods to include data governance, architecture, quality, and security, as outlined in the HHS Policy for Enterprise Data Management guidelines. Data architecture and consistent data management methods should include, but are not limited to, scalable solutions, minimizing data redundancy, and considerations for data virtualization to explore data synchronization and integration needs.

Monitoring and managing data security are essential to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of data. CMS policies and procedures must include data security requirements that comply with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and federal mandates. Such mandates include, but are not limited to, required controls to protect data collected and shared across the enterprise, to maintain comprehensive inventory of databases and their contents, to encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit except data approved for public release, and to protect data against unauthorized use. Data sharing agreements must comply with HHS policy, Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO) Rules of Engagement for Security, Monitoring, and Collaborative Systems, NIST SP 800-47 Rev. 1, Managing the Security of Information Exchanges, and NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5., Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations

Major Related Services and Data Sources

PREFERRED

CMS has invested heavily in the maturity of these solutions, and strongly recommends their use where feasible.

Integrated Data Repository Cloud

The Integrated Data Repository Cloud (IDRC) is a high-volume data warehouse integrating Medicare claims—Parts A, B, C, D, and Durable Medical Equipment (DME) with beneficiary and provider data sources, as well as such ancillary data as contract information and risk scores. This robust, integrated data supports much needed analytics across CMS.

IDR services include:

  • State-of-the-art capabilities for business intelligence and reporting, along with additional data access capabilities
  • Automated Finder File and Data Extract Process
  • Data dictionary, data limitations information, and source-to-target mappings
  • Customer support and assistance

IDR Enterprise Data Product (EDP)

The IDR Enterprise Data Product (EDP) supports the functions of the decommissioned Enterprise Data Mesh (EDM) using the same Snowflake-based capabilities of the IDR. This robust, integrated data supports business intelligence and analytics across CMS.

Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) DataConnect

CMCS DataConnect is an all-in-one analytics platform for the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services (CMCS). DataConnect is built on Databricks and Amazon QuickSight dashboards. It provides read-only access to an expanding set of enterprise datasets, integrated with tools.

CMS Master Data Management

The Master Data Management (MDM) system is a CMS enterprise shared service. MDM provides singular, consolidated, and ID-resolved authoritative sources of Beneficiary, Provider, Organization, Program and Relationship data for use within CMS and by external agencies and organizations.

TRA 2025 Release 1 • General Distribution / Unclassified Information