[Estimate of the prevalence of Parkinson's disease by using electronic health archives]

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Parkinson's disease using electronic health archives and to obtain a knowledge base for its governance.

Materials: Drug prescriptions, tax-exemptions and hospital discharge records relating to assisted of Health Services Agency "Triestina" in the year 2011.

Results: We identified 909 cases (crude prevalence rate: 380/100.000). The percentage contribution of drug prescriptions, tax-exemptions and hospital discharge records is: 81.5%, 36.1% and 35.2%.

Conclusions: The use of drug prescriptions to detect patients with Parkinson's disease can be effectively supplemented by data of hospital discharges and tax-exemptions, but they still show an underestimation of 17%.