Overview
The Maine Cancer Blueprint, created by Maine Cancer Foundation (MCF), is the State’s first comprehensive tool designed to increase knowledge and awareness of issues related to cancer, support efforts to expand access to care, and bring awareness about lifestyle changes that can help reduce cancer risk. This interactive tool explores inequities and variations in cancer rates by examining access to care and health outcomes disaggregated by demographic and geographic characteristics that are known to influence cancer risk.
Insights are available for lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, melanomas of the skin, and prostate cancer, with a larger scope of cancer specific measures for each cancer type developed in project phases.
Partners in Data and Cancer Research
The Maine Cancer Blueprint is the result of collaborative efforts from organizations dedicated to improving cancer outcomes through data-driven insights. Their expertise and contributions have been instrumental in shaping this interactive tool, ensuring it provides valuable, actionable information to support cancer prevention, early detection, and care access across Maine.
The Maine Health Data Organization (MHDO), the state agency responsible for maintaining a comprehensive, objective, and reliable health information database, is essential to the success of the Maine Cancer Blueprint. Several data sets released by MHDO were used as primary sources for these analyses, offering critical insights into cancer care, risk factors, and health disparities across Maine. By providing transparent and accessible health data, MHDO plays a vital role in improving the health of Maine citizens.
The Human Services Research Institute (HSRI) supported MCF in developing the Maine Cancer Blueprint by selecting and integrating data sources, developing measures, and analyzing data to provide actionable insights and visualizations. HSRI’s Population Health Team, with extensive experience working with MHDO data, conducted literature reviews, applied standard methodologies, and rigorously assessed data sources to ensure the Blueprint delivers meaningful, evidence-based findings.
Data Sources
A variety of publicly available datasets were explored and used, however data sets from the MHDO are the primary source for the content displayed in this dashboard. The MHDO data sets include:
MHDO All-Payer Claims Data (APCD)
2017-2022
Maine has collected health insurance claims information since 2003. The APCD currently holds claims from commercial insurance carriers, third party administrators (TPAs), pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), dental benefit administrators, MaineCare (Maine Medicaid), and CMS (Medicare). Health care claims processors regularly submit to MHDO a completed health care claims dataset for all members who are Maine residents. The submissions include files with member eligibility, medical claims, pharmacy claims, and/or dental claims information.
MHDO Hospital Inpatient and Outpatient Encounter Data
2018-2022
Inpatient and outpatient services from Maine hospitals, as well as services provided by Maine hospital-owned specialty groups or primary care practices.
Maine Vital Statistics Mortality Data Merged with MHDO Data
2015-2021
Public Law 2021, chapter 423, requires the state registrar to report data related to the registration of vital statistics to the Maine Health Data Organization in accordance with a joint rule, Chapter 730; and that MHDO must integrate this data with other MHDO data.
Maine Cancer Registry Data Linked to MHDO Data
2015-2019
Public Law 2021, chapter 423, requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report data from the cancer-incidence registry to the Maine Health Data Organization in accordance with a joint rule, Chapter 730; and that MHDO must integrate this data with other MHDO data.
Help Reduce Cancer Inequities in Maine – Give Now
Detailed data on lung and colorectal cancers is only the beginning. We plan to expand the Maine Cancer Blueprint to provide comprehensive insights into other cancer types, but we need your help. Please consider donating and let’s fight cancer together.