Abstract

Building a register-based performance indicator database using individual-level administrative health care data from hospitals, social and long-term care services.

Objectives: The principal aim of the databases is to enable comparison of performance in the care of specific patient groups within and between countries using patient-level administrative health care data.

Methods: Data from the following registers are included: hospital discharge registers, social and long-term care registers, registers of GP consultations, mortality registers, registers covering socioeconomic variables and others. The registers are linked using personal identification numbers. From the databases, one for each included disease, different performance measures are constructed.

Of specific interest are the STATE variables that describe in which place or state the patient is each day 365 days ahead and 365 days following the index day (the first day of hospitalization). The STATE variable is based on the idea that a patient can only be one specific place each day and conveys information of 1) the patient’s fundamental state (dead, alive at home or alive at an institution), 2) the type care (hospital, rehabilitation, nursing home, home nurisning or others), 3) the main diagnosis and intensity of the treatment (i.e. acute care or non-acute) and 4) type of outpatient visits.

By this presentation the main features of the STATE variable will be highlighted and illustrated. One purpose of the indicator is to in a detailed way describe care pathways.