Optimising use of electronic health records to describe the presentation of rheumatoid arthritis in primary care: a strategy for developing code lists.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Research using electronic health records (EHRs) relies heavily on coded clinical data. Due to variation in coding practices, it can be difficult to aggregate the codes for a condition in order to define cases. This paper describes a methodology to develop 'indicator markers' found in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA); these are a broader range of codes which may allow a probabilistic case definition to use in cases where no diagnostic code is yet recorded.

Methods

We examined EHRs of 5,843 patients in the General Practice Research Database, aged ≥ 30 y, with a first coded diagnosis of RA between 2005 and 2008. Lists of indicator markers for RA were developed initially by panels of clinicians drawing up code-lists and then modified based on scrutiny of

SUBMITTER: Nicholson A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3579840 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature