Using complex billing data from a universal health care payer to study cancer patients /
We describe some of the processes and decision points during two health services research investigations of head and neck cancer patients in the Military Health System, a universal health system for active duty personnel and their families, and military retirees and their families. The first study u...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
London :
SAGE Publications Ltd,
2020.
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| Series: | SAGE Research Methods Cases : Medicine and Health.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to the full text of this electronic book |
| Summary: | We describe some of the processes and decision points during two health services research investigations of head and neck cancer patients in the Military Health System, a universal health system for active duty personnel and their families, and military retirees and their families. The first study used common health services outcomes such as cost, number of hospitalizations, length of hospitalizations, and number of ambulatory visits. The findings showed that using either military or civilian facilities resulted in less cost and utilization than using both sources of care. The second study examined the contribution of mental health comorbidities on the same health service outcomes. Starting with our research questions first, we used cross-sectional, retrospective designs to analyze large, complex billing data. We review strengths and limitations of using billing data, differences between cross-sectional and cohort data, the importance of understanding how the military population compares with the U.S. population, the process and lessons learned in the course of obtaining and analyzing a de-identified data set, and numerous ecologic factors for which beginning health services researchers need to be aware. We also stress the importance of having a research team with expertise to identify data errors and interpret findings in the context of a complex health care setting. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9781529735758 1529735750 |