Use of a medical records linkage system to enumerate a dynamic population over time: the Rochester epidemiology project.

ABSTRACT: The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) is a unique research infrastructure in which the medical records of virtually all persons residing in Olmsted County, Minnesota, for over 40 years have been linked and archived. In the present article, the authors describe how the REP links medical records from multiple health care institutions to specific individuals and how residency is confirmed over time. Additionally, the authors provide evidence for the validity of the REP Census enumeration. Between 1966 and 2008, 1,145,856 medical records were linked to 486,564 individuals in the REP. The REP Census was found to be valid when compared with a list of residents obtained from random digit dialing, a list of residents of nursing homes and senior citizen complexes, a commercial list of residents,

SUBMITTER: St Sauver JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3105274 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature