Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether a secure, privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) methodology can be implemented in a scalable manner for use in a large national clinical research network. Results: We established the governance and technical capacity to support the use of PPRL across the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet ® ). As a pilot, four sites used the Datavant software to transform patient personally identifiable information (PII) into de-identified tokens. We queried the sites for patients with a clinical encounter in 2018 or 2019 and matched their tokens to determine whether overlap existed. We described patient overlap among the sites and generated a “deduplicated” table of patient demographic characteristics. Overlapping patients were found in 3 of the 6 site-pairs. Following deduplication, the total patient count was 3,108,515 (0.11% reduction), with the largest reduction in count for patients with an “Other/Missing” value for Sex; from 198 to 163 (17.6% reduction). The PPRL solution successfully links patients across data sources using distributed queries without directly accessing patient PII. The overlap queries and analysis performed in this pilot is being replicated across the full network to provide additional insight into patient linkages among a distributed research network.
Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to determine whether a secure, privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) methodology can be implemented in a scalable manner for use in a large national clinical research network. Results We established the governance and technical capacity to support the use of PPRL across the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet ® ). As a pilot, four sites used the Datavant software to transform patient personally identifiable information (PII) into de-identified tokens. We queried the sites for patients with a clinical encounter in 2018 or 2019 and matched their tokens to determine whether overlap existed. We described patient overlap among the sites and generated a “deduplicated” table of patient demographic characteristics. Overlapping patients were found in 3 of the 6 site-pairs. Following deduplication, the total patient count was 3,108,515 (0.11% reduction), with the largest reduction in count for patients with an “Other/Missing” value for Sex; from 198 to 163 (17.6% reduction). The PPRL solution successfully links patients across data sources using distributed queries without directly accessing patient PII. The overlap queries and analysis performed in this pilot is being replicated across the full network to provide additional insight into patient linkages among a distributed research network.
To determine the prevalence of tuberculin reactivity among all new employees at a hospital in New York City.Prospective measurement of purified protein derivative (PPD) status in consecutive new employees at a hospital in New York City from 1991 to 1993. All employees are tested as part of a preemployment physical, assuring complete compliance. Aplisol (Parke-Davis, Morris Plains, NJ) was used in 1991 and 1992, and Tubersol (Connaught, Swiftwater, PA) in 1993. Tests were applied and interpreted by trained employee health personnel.Of 313 consecutive new employees, comprising all job categories, 40% were PPD positive at time of initial hire, including 20% of US-born and 70% of foreign-born employees. Of 114 persons who had received BCG vaccination, 67% were PPD positive. By multivariate regression analysis, age, BCG vaccination history, and foreign country of birth were independent predictors of a reactive PPD test.The high prevalence of tuberculin reactivity may reflect high rates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease in the community, complicating interpretation of the efficacy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in healthcare facilities.
Abstract Recent evidence demonstrating the efficacy of zidovudine, as well as experience with protease inhibitors, led to revision of recommendations for occupational exposures to human immunodeficiency virus-infected blood. At our hospital, this resulted in significant increases in rates of reported exposures and prophylaxis initiation. Among 10 healthcare workers given three-drug, protease-inhibitor-containing regimens, five completed 4 weeks, two completed 4 weeks of two drugs, and three stopped due to intolerance. Three workers missed work due to side effects
Medication adherence is an important aspect of chronic disease management. Electronic health record (EHR) data are often not linked to dispensing data, limiting clinicians' understanding of which of their patients fill their medications, and how to tailor care appropriately. We aimed to develop an algorithm to link EHR prescribing to claims-based dispensing data and use the results to quantify how often patients with diabetes filled prescribed chronic disease medications.We developed an algorithm linking EHR prescribing data (RxNorm terminology) to claims-based dispensing data (NDC terminology), within sample of adult (19-64) community health center (CHC) patients with diabetes from a network of CHCs across 12 states. We demonstrate an application of the method by calculating dispense rates for a set of commonly prescribed diabetes and cardio-protective medications. To further inform clinical care, we computed adjusted odds ratios of dispense by patient-, encounter-, and clinic-level characteristics.Seventy-six percent of cardio-protective medication prescriptions and 74% of diabetes medications were linked to a dispensing record. Age, income, ethnicity, insurance, assigned primary care provider, comorbidity, time on EHR, and clinic size were significantly associated with odds of dispensing.EHR prescriptions and pharmacy dispense data can be linked at the record level across different terminologies. Dispensing rates in this low-income population with diabetes were similar to other populations.Record linkage resulted in the finding that CHC patients with diabetes largely had their chronic disease medications dispensed. Understanding factors associated with dispensing rates highlight barriers and opportunities for optimal disease management.
Abstract Objective This article describes the implementation of a privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) solution across PCORnet®, the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network. Material and Methods Using a PPRL solution from Datavant, we quantified the degree of patient overlap across the network and report a de-duplicated analysis of the demographic and clinical characteristics of the PCORnet population. Results There were ∼170M patient records across the responding Network Partners, with ∼138M (81%) of those corresponding to a unique patient. 82.1% of patients were found in a single partner and 14.7% were in 2. The percentage overlap between Partners ranged between 0% and 80% with a median of 0%. Linking patients’ electronic health records with claims increased disease prevalence in every clinical characteristic, ranging between 63% and 173%. Discussion The overlap between Partners was variable and depended on timeframe. However, patient data linkage changed the prevalence profile of the PCORnet patient population. Conclusions This project was one of the largest linkage efforts of its kind and demonstrates the potential value of record linkage. Linkage between Partners may be most useful in cases where there is geographic proximity between Partners, an expectation that potential linkage Partners will be able to fill gaps in data, or a longer study timeframe.
