Using Linked Data to Evaluate Medical and Financial Outcomes of Motor Vehicle Crashes in Connecticut. Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES)

摘要

A deterministic algorithm was developed which allowed data from Department of Transportation motor vehicle crash records, state mortality registry records, and hospital admission and emergency department records to be linked for analysis of the financial and medical impact of motore vehicle crashes in Connecticut in 1995. There were 132,918 motor vehicle crash records (individual vehicles or pedestrians) involving 183,358 persons, 18.9% of whom were associated with one or more linked medical records, resulting in a total of 34,778 hospital visits. Of these, 91.7% were treated and released from the emergency department, with the rest being admitted to hospital with median length of stay of 3 days. About 77% of the persons treated in the emergency department or admitted as hospital inpatients had been identified as injured by the traffic safety officer at the scene of the crash. Median total hospital charges for these hospital visits was $405. Home discharge constituted 97% of the hospital discharges; mean total charges for those discharged to skilled nursing or intensive care facilities were 10 times greater than for those discharged home.