Patterns and trends of potentially inappropriate high-density lipoprotein cholesterol testing in Australian adults at high risk of cardiovascular disease from 2008 to 2014: analysis of linked individual patient data from the Australian Medicare Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:We examine the extent to which the adult Australian population on lipid-lowering medications receives the level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) testing recommended by national guidelines. DATA:We analysed records from 7 years (2008-2014) of the 10% publicly available sample of deidentified, individual level, linked Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) electronic databases of Australia. METHODS:The PBS data were used to identify individuals on stable prescriptions of lipid-lowering treatment. The MBS data were used to estimate the annual frequency of HDL-C testing. We developed a methodology to address the issue of 'episode coning' in the MBS data, which causes an undercounting of pathology tests. We used a published figure on

SUBMITTER: Hajati F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5855213 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature