title: Record linkage of healthcare insurance claims.
abstract: Limitations of current record linkage techniques include difficulty in handling large and heterogeneous data sets, low sensitivity in deterministic matching, the necessity to provide a priori weights for probabilistic matching, low computational efficiency, and complex software. This paper provides a detailed description of a method developed for purposes of linking records of individuals across time and geography. The procedure for record-linkage consists of three major components: data standardization, weight estimation, and matching. The proposed method was designed to incorporate a combination of exact and probabilistic matching techniques. The procedure was validated using convergent, divergent, and criterion- validity measures. The authors feel that the procedure outlined in this paper is a first step in addressing the current trend toward larger and more complex databases.
authors.affiliation: Healthcare Informatics, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA 19426-2990, USA. timothy.w.victor@gsk.com
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Victor
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mera
mesh_terms: D006302:Health Services Research / Q000379:methods; D007344:Insurance Claim Reporting; D007348:Insurance, Health; D008498:Medical Record Linkage / Q000379:methods*