Validation of Diagnostic Groups Based on Health Care Utilization Data Should Adjust for Sampling Strategy

摘要

Objective:Valid measurement of outcomes such as disease prevalence using health care utilization data is fundamental to the implementation of a “learning health system.” Definitions of such outcomes can be complex, based on multiple diagnostic codes. The literature on validating such data demonstrates a lack of awareness of the need for a stratified sampling design and corresponding statistical methods. We propose a method for validating the measurement of diagnostic groups that have: (1) different prevalences of diagnostic codes within the group; and (2) low prevalence.