Accuracy of Medicare claims data for estimation of cancer incidence and resection rates among elderly Americans. Med Care 1991 Dec;29(12):1226-36
Date
12/01/1991Pubmed ID
1745080DOI
10.1097/00005650-199112000-00005Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0026280055 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 81 CitationsAbstract
To explore the reliability of Medicare Part A claims data for clinical and health services research related to the care of patients with cancer, the authors compared estimates of the incidence of and resection rates for cancer of the breast, colon, and lung derived from analysis of Medicare Part A data versus data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Incidence rates of breast, colon, and lung cancer estimated from Medicare Part A data were within 6% of estimates derived from SEER data. Resection rates estimated from Medicare Part A data, in contrast, were 12% to 27% lower than resection rates based on SEER data. This discrepancy is not explained by variations in practice between regions participating in versus those not participating in the SEER registries but may be due to undercoding of surgical procedures in Medicare Part A data. This analysis suggests that Medicare data can provide useful insights into the care of patients with cancer, but research regarding inpatient procedures employed in management of cancer should be based on analysis of Medicare Parts A and B data combined.
Author List
Whittle J, Steinberg EP, Anderson GF, Herbert RAuthor
Jeffrey Whittle BS, MPH, MD Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgedAged, 80 and over
Breast Neoplasms
Colonic Neoplasms
Data Interpretation, Statistical
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Health Services Research
Humans
Incidence
Insurance Claim Reporting
Lung Neoplasms
Medicare Part A
National Institutes of Health (U.S.)
Population Surveillance
Practice Patterns, Physicians'
Registries
United States
