Utility of linking Medicaid and Medicare claims data to death certificate only records

<p>Cancer registrars expend significant effort to limit the number of cancer cases reported by death certificate (death certificate only cases, or DCOs) since they are of very limited analytical value. The purpose of this project was to determine whether linking New York State DCO records with Medicaid and Medicare claims data yields useful information to identify further contacts for DCO follow-up. For the diagnosis period 2002-2006, 350 such cases were identified, allowing the DCO rate to be reduced from 0.8% to 0.7%, </p

Completeness of non-malignant intracranial and CNS tumors

<p>The New York State Cancer Registry (NYSCR) has systematically collected non-malignant intracranial and central nervous system tumors (CNS) since 1988. Since we never included these cases in our annual statistics, we had not previously assessed the completeness of them. After linking NYSCR files to 2002 and 2003 hospital discharge data to assess completeness, we found an unusually high proportion of potentially unreported benign/uncertain behavior intracranial and CNS tumors as compared to other unreported primary sites for both years. Identification of specific casefinding issues and additional training are necessary to rectify this problem.</p

Identification of Asians/Pacific Islanders in US Cancer Registries and Resultant Cancer Rates

<p>The recently-developed NAACCR Asian/Pacific Islander Identification Algorithm (NAPIIA) reclassifies cases from a non-specific to a specific Asian or Pacific Islander code using name and birthplace information, enhancing the ability to analyze these groups. The algorithm reduces the percentage of Asians with a non-specific code from 16% to 6%.</p

Comparison of New York State and CSP populations, age 18 and above.

a<p>Excludes records with missing information, which ranged from 0 percent (age) to 3 percent (birthplace).</p

Geographic and Temporal Patterns of Thyroid Cancer in New York State

<p>Since 1980, the incidence of thyroid cancer in the US has been increasing at the rate of 2.6% per year among women and 2.0% per year among men, most of which is attributable to increases in papillary carcinoma. Factors supporting the hypothesis that at least some of this increase in thyroid cancer is due to incidental diagnosis include the high prevalence of thyroid cancer found on autopsy (estimated to be 4% in the US) and increased detection and follow-up of small thyroid nodules related to increased utilization of neck ultrasound. This poster reviews the epidemiology and natural history of thyroid cancer incidence and recent temporal trends to examine the effects of incidental diagnosis. </p

Linking NYS Cancer Registry Data to Medicare, Medicaid and Hospital Discharge Files to Assess Breast and Colorectal Cancer Care

<p>The State of New York collects vast amounts of data to monitor the health of its citizens and administer public health programs. Traditionally these programs have worked independently, with limited collaboration or data sharing. Our broader project seeks to bring diverse sources of data and expertise together to examine the quality of cancer care delivery, from early detection to survival, with an emphasis on breast and colorectal cancer. To accomplish this, we are undertaking a historic linkage between the New York State Cancer Registry, the New York State Medicaid Program, statewide hospital discharge data (SPARCS), and federal Medicare claims data. Each of these data sources contains distinctive information not present in the other sources, yielding a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This poster presents preliminary results from the initial linkage which highlight the differences between the Medicaid and non-Medicaid populations.</p