Disability data management for state and local planning.

Disability is the nation's largest public health issue; with over 35 million Americans experiencing disability and annual disability-related costs exceeding $170 billion. Planning for the efficient and equitable allocations of state and local rehabilitation services has generally been inadequate, however. Geographic information systems (GIS) approaches have the potential to dramatically improve the ability of state local rehavilitation agencies to plan the allocation of resources in a new era of state control. In Phase I we will determine the feasibility and value of applying GIS technology to assessing and planning disability services. This will include demonstrating the utility of optimization analysis in a pilot test in Montana. This effort will also produce a protocol that will permit development of software for linking various health care and other data-bases to GIS software to create mapping and planning structures. This software will provide the basis for commercial services, including the potential licensing of software to state and local agencies.