North Carolina Integrated Data for Researchers (NCIDR)

What is NCIDR?

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) recognizes the value of research to evaluate and improve its programs and is interested in supporting the efforts of researchers to help DHHS answer important policy-relevant questions. The NC DHHS also recognize the great need for integrated data that links disparate systems of care that silo the administration of physical health and behavioral health services.

The North Carolina Integrated Data for Researchers (NCIDR, pronounced “Insider”) was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality1 to accomplish this goal – specifically to develop a robust research data warehouse for storing merged data from four different publicly-funded sources in North Carolina. Community Care of North Carolina maintains this unique database on behalf of NC DHHS, and facilitates requests for access to integrated behavioral health services data for research purposes. NCIDR is a unique resource for obtaining the most complete picture of the health services delivered to people with severe mental illness in North Carolina. Few examples of such an integrated warehouse exist anywhere else, and NCIDR makes it possible for researchers and epidemiologists to conduct comparative effectiveness research related to people with these conditions. 

What data are available?

The data sources include:

  • Medicaid claims and enrollment data for nearly 1 million individuals with MH, DD and SA diagnoses
  • IPRS (Integrated Payment and Reporting System) – covers primarily outpatient mental health services for people that do not qualify for Medicaid (approximately 250,000 individuals)
  • HEARTS (Healthcare Enterprise Accounts Receivable Tracking System) – documents services delivered by inpatient State Mental Health facilities (approximately 25,000 individuals)
  • Piedmont Behavioral Health (Medicaid waiver) – behavioral health encounter data from Medicaid's capitated arrangement in five counties (approximately 25,000 individuals)

Data are available for four state fiscal years 2008 through 2011 (7/1/2007 – 6/30/2011).   Each year has three data sets (claims, client, provider) in addition to multiple lookup tables with definitions. Population includes any Medicaid client with a claim that contains any MH, DD or SA (290xx through 319xx) diagnosis at least once in the four year time period, plus all clients appearing in the other 3 data sources. Requests will need to specify required time periods and clearly define the population being studied. Note that we exclude individuals dually enrolled with Medicare during months in which they are dually enrolled.

What is the process for requesting data?

The process for requesting access to the integrated data is detailed here. Researchers are strongly encouraged to contact the Director of Evaluation at cjackson@n3cn.org to discuss his/her intent to submit a Request Form. All researchers will need to complete the Request Form and may also need to complete the data use agreement if requesting data that is not completely de-identified. Although IRB approval must be documented prior to release of data, we will accept applications with conditional IRB approval and you may discuss projects with the Director of Evaluation at any stage of development. A Research Oversight Committee (ROC) that includes stake holders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the NC Division of Medical Assistance (DMA), the NC Division of State Operated Healthcare Facilities (DSOHF), the NC Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (DMHDDSAS), the NC Office of Rural Health and Community Care (ORHCC), the Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) and other community partners will review research requests and grant approval when applicable. Click here for more information about the ROC. Once approved, please note that CCNC must charge a nominal fee of $3,000 to cover costs related to the preparation and transmission of files to the researcher (additional charges may apply depending on the specific programming needs).

Please Note: This process is applicable only for the integrated NCIDR dataset, specifically for research projects related to behavioral health services that require merged and de-identified NC DHHS data from these sources.


NCIDR contacts

For Research Proposals:
Carlos Jackson, PhD
Assistant Director of Program Evaluation
Telephone: (919) 745-2438 Email: cjackson@n3cn.org.

Primary contact for all technical questions:
Carol Willoughby
Project Manager
Telephone: (919) 745-2403

1. AHRQ grant no. 1R24HS019659-01

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