Defining disease phenotypes using national linked electronic health records: a case study of atrial fibrillation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

National electronic health records (EHR) are increasingly used for research but identifying disease cases is challenging due to differences in information captured between sources (e.g. primary and secondary care). Our objective was to provide a transparent, reproducible model for integrating these data using atrial fibrillation (AF), a chronic condition diagnosed and managed in multiple ways in different healthcare settings, as a case study.

Methods

Potentially relevant codes for AF screening, diagnosis, and management were identified in four coding systems: Read (primary care diagnoses and procedures), British National Formulary (BNF; primary care prescriptions), ICD-10 (secondary care diagnoses) and OPCS-4 (secondary care procedures). From these we developed a

SUBMITTER: Morley KI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4219705 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature