Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1998 Jul-Aug;89(4):270-3.
doi: 10.1007/BF03403934.

Creating a population-based linked health database: a new resource for health services research

R Chamberlayne  1 , B Green, M L Barer, C Hertzman, W J Lawrence, S B Sheps
Affiliations

Creating a population-based linked health database: a new resource for health services research

R Chamberlayne et al. Can J Public Health. 1998 Jul-Aug.

Abstract
in English, French

As the availability of both health utilization and outcome information becomes increasingly important to health care researchers and policy makers, the ability to link person-specific health data becomes a critical objective. The integration of population-based administrative health databases has been realized in British Columbia by constructing an historical file of all persons registered with the health care system, and by probabilistically linking various program files to this 'coordinating' file. The linkages have achieved a high rate of success in matching service events to person-specific registration records. This success has allowed research projects to be proposed which would otherwise not have been feasible, and has initiated the development of policies and procedures regarding research access to linked data. These policies and procedures include a framework for addressing the ethical issues surrounding data linkage. With continued attention to confidentiality issues, these linked data present a valuable resource for health services research and planning.

L’accès aux données concernant l’utilisation des services de santé et l’impact des interventions devient de plus en plus important pour les chercheurs en services médicaux et les élaborateurs de politiques de santé. La capacité de lier les données d’identification individuelle devient un objectif essentiel. L’intégration de larges banques de données a été réalisée en Colombie-Britannique en constituant un dossier historique (de coordination) de toutes les personnes enregistrées avec le système de services médicaux. Ceci permet de créer un lien entre plusieurs banques de données d’utilisation des services et les données d’identification individuelle. Ce succès a permis la soumission de nouveaux projets de recherche qui ne seraient autrement pas possible, et le développement de politiques et procédures en ce qui concerne l’accès aux données liées. Ces politiques et procédures incluent une structure pour traiter les questions d’éthique concernant les données liées. En tenant compte des questions de confidentialité, les données liées sont présentement une ressource de grande valeur pour la recherche et la planification des services de santé.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Cote TR, O’Brien TR, Ward JW, et al. AIDS and cancer registry linkage: Measurement and enhancement of registry completeness. Prev Med. 1995;24(4):375–77. doi: 10.1006/pmed.1995.1061. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Potosky AL, Riley GF, Lubitz JD, et al. Potential for cancer related health services research using a linked Medicare-tumor registry database. Med Care. 1993;31(8):732–48. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199308000-00006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Langley JD, Botha JL. Use of record linkage techniques to maintain the Leicestershire Diabetes Register. Computer Methods & Programs in Biomedicine. 1994;41(3–4):287–95. doi: 10.1016/0169-2607(94)90060-4. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Stanley FJ, Croft ML, Gibbins J, et al. A population database for maternal and child health research in Western Australia using record linkage. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiol. 1994;8:433–47. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3016.1994.tb00482.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Katz SJ, Armstrong RW, LoGerfo JP. The adequacy of prenatal care and incidence of low birthweight among the poor in Washington State and British Columbia. Am J Public Health. 1994;84(6):986–91. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.84.6.986. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

MeSH terms