National data sources on the care and outcomes of patients with community acquired pneumonia.
Despite improved understanding and treatment of community acquired pneumonia (CAP), variations in clinical practice and patient outcomes still exists, resulting in excess healthcare dollars spent and decreased patient satisfaction. The use of treatment and outcomes research data can help providers improve their methods and standardize techniques to control costs and provide the best care for their patients. To better understand the utility and capabilities of this research, this article will compare several administrative and clinical databases. Two, data sources in particular, the EPI-Q Inc. CAP-Compare database and the University HealthSystem Consortium's (UHC) CAP Benchmarking Program contain clinical and utilization data specific to CAP. In addition there are several government and non-government sponsored data sources that include administrative data on many diagnosis including CAP. These include: Healthcare Benchmarking Systems International's EXPLORE database, the Center for Healthcare Industry Performance Studies database, the National Center for Health Statistics'--National Hospital Discharge Survey, and the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data files.
Oinonen
M J
MJ
University HealthSystem Consortium, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523, USA.
Sansguiri
V
V
Smith
M
M
D019985:Benchmarking; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D003363:Cost Control; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009309:National Center for Health Statistics, U.S.; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012106:Research; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States