Using medical billing data to evaluate chronically ill children over time.
This study evaluates stability of chronic condition identification in children older than 4 years in a health plan billing data using Clinical Risk Groups. A total of 31,055 children were continuously enrolled for 4 years; 7.5% (2,334) identified with a chronic condition status in year 1, 2002, and another 15.4% (4,784) during subsequent years; 63.6% (19,759) were identified as "healthy" throughout. The most stable were those identified with a catastrophic health condition. The least stable were those with minor and moderate/dominant major chronic conditions. Overall, 73.1% (1,706) of the children with chronic conditions in year 1 improved in status, and 5.7% (133) progressed to more complex conditions.
Neff
John M
JM
Center for Children with Special Needs, Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, 98101, USA. john.neff@seattlechildrens.org
Sharp
Virginia L
VL
Popalisky
Jean
J
Fitzgibbon
Tracy
T
D000067:Accounts Payable and Receivable; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000191:economics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008330:Management Audit; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States