Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.

Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.

The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

CMS.gov Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services CMS.gov Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opens in new window
CMS.gov Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Main header

  • About Us
  • Newsroom
  • Data & Research
Newsroom

Newsroom_Navigation

  • Press Kit
  • Data
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Podcast

 

 

 

Fact sheet

CMS Data Element Library Fact Sheet

Jun 21, 2018
  • Data
  • Legislation

Share

opens in new window opens in new window opens in new window

Data Element Library (DEL) Mission and Goals: The mission of the DEL is to serve as a comprehensive, electronic, distributable, and centralized resource of CMS patient assessment instrument content for the public.

Goals of the DEL: 

  • Serve as a resource for CMS assessment data elements
  • Promote the sharing of electronic CMS assessment data sets and information standards
  • Influence and support industry efforts to promote electronic health record (EHR)/health IT interoperability 

DEL Overview: The DEL is a new CMS resource that moves toward enabling the availability of electronic health information when and where it’s needed. The DEL is a public resource for use by providers, vendors, researchers, and the general public, and will help facilitate health information exchange and EHR interoperability. Building on CMS Administrator Seema Verma’s interoperability efforts, and in coordination with interoperability efforts of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the DEL will represent a centralized resource for CMS’ required long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) assessment instrument data elements (e.g., assessment questions and response options) and their related health information technology (health IT) standards.

Aligning with CMS’ strategic goals to improve customer experiences, to enhance provider and clinician experiences, and as part of the governmentwide MyHealthEData initiative, the DEL provides a unique opportunity to advance interoperable health information exchange. Interoperable health information exchange has the potential to improve care coordination, patient outcomes, and healthcare efficiencies, and reduce provider burden and costs through the use and exchange of data. The DEL also supports CMS’ Patients Over Paperwork initiative aimed at reducing the administrative burden on providers so they can focus on their patients, and patients can be better informed partners in their own care.

The DEL furthers CMS’ goal of data standardization and interoperability, which is also a goal of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014.

The DEL will initially contain data elements from the patient assessment instruments for the following PAC settings:

PAC Setting

CMS Assessment Instrument

Long-term Care Hospitals (LTCHs)

LTCH Continuity Assessment Record & Evaluation (CARE) Data Set (LCDS)

Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs)

Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) Minimum Data Set (MDS)

Home Health Agencies (HHAs)

Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS)

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs)

IRF patient assessment instrument (IRF-PAI)

Hospices

Hospice Item Set

Through the DEL application, providers, vendors, researchers, and other stakeholders will be able search the database and generate reports on CMS assessment contents, including questions, response options, relevant details, and their associated health IT standards, in one location. In addition to the CMS assessment instruments referenced in the IMPACT Act, it is envisioned that the future DEL could expand to include other CMS assessment content, such as the assessment instrument currently under development for hospice, as well as the Functional Assessment Standardized Items (FASI), which are currently under development for use in long-term services and supports (LTSS).

The DEL does not contain any patient-level data. The DEL is limited to CMS assessment questions and response options, as well as their associated attributes including the assessment version, item labels, item status, copyright information, CMS item usage, skip pattern information, look-back periods, and related health IT standards.

CMS anticipates that the DEL will make it easier for IT vendors to incorporate data elements adopted by CMS into provider EHRs, thereby reducing burden, improving interoperable data exchange, and facilitating care coordination. ONC has recognized health IT standards such as Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC), Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine -- Clinical Terms (SNOMED), Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture (CCDA), and Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) to support interoperable exchange of health information. In the initial version of the DEL, assessment items are mapped to LOINC and SNOMED standards, when feasible. 

In addition, the DEL provides a centralized location for providers, states, researchers, or others to obtain the most up to date information on CMS assessment content. 

The CMS Data Element Library may be viewed here: https://DEL.cms.gov 

Resources

  • For more information on the IMPACT Act, visit the IMPACT Act webpage
  • To keep up to date on the Data Element Library, sign up for the listserv here.
  • For more information on Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Programs, visit:
    • Home Health Agencies
    • Hospice Agencies
    • Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities
    • Long-Term Care Hospitals
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities

If you have any questions, please contact DELHelp@cms.hhs.gov. 

  • Previous
  • Next

Related Releases

  • New Measures Under Consideration Mark a Milestone for CMS’s Reimagined Quality Strategy to Increase Digital Innovation and Reduce Burden
    Dec 22, 2020
  • CMS Office of the Actuary Releases 2019 National Health Expenditures
    Dec 16, 2020
  • CMS Survey Data Illustrates Impact of COVID-19 on Medicare Beneficiaries’ Daily Life and Experiences
    Oct 16, 2020
  • CMS Updates Data on COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries
    Jul 28, 2020
  • Trump Administration Issues Call to Action Based on New Data Detailing COVID-19 Impacts on Medicare Beneficiaries
    Jun 22, 2020

Contact us

CMS News and Media Group
Catherine Howden, Director
Brian Leshak, Deputy Director
Jason Tross, Deputy Director

Media Inquiries Form
202-690-6145

Get email updates

Sign up to get the latest information about your choice of CMS topics in your inbox. Also, you can decide how often you want to get updates.

CMS & HHS WEBSITES

  • Medicare.govopens in new window
  • Medicaid.govopens in new window
  • InsureKidsNow.govopens in new window
  • HealthCare.govopens in new window
  • HHS.govopens in new window

HELPFUL LINKS

  • Acronyms
  • Archive
  • Contacts
  • Glossary
  • Privacy policy
  • Privacy settings

RSS FEEDS

  • Newsroom
  • Blog
  • Podcast
U.S. Department of Health & Human Servicesopens in new window Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Servicesopens in new window

A federal government website managed and paid for by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

7500 Security Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244

opens in new window opens in new window opens in new window

TOOLS

  • Web policiesopens in new window
  • Plain languageopens in new window
  • No Fear Actopens in new window
  • Freedom of Information Actopens in new window
  • Inspector Generalopens in new window