The impact of glaucoma coding in a large claims database.
OBJECTIVE
Coding variation and its impact on identified populations is a major concern in database analyses. We assessed potential differences in demographics and healthcare charges among patients with open-angle glaucoma identified through different International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) coding algorithms.


METHODS
Retrospective database analysis.


METHODS
Three glaucoma cohorts were identified based on hierarchical inclusion of patients with >/=2 glaucoma ICD-9 codes (PharMetrics, Inc, Watertown, Massachusetts, USA, 1998 to 2003). Descriptive statistics and healthcare charges were assessed for each cohort.


RESULTS
The three cohorts included 64,380, 14,705, and 4,225 unique patients each. Although significant differences in age, gender, region, payer type, product type, and medical comorbidities existed among the three cohorts, these differences had little impact on resource consumption when the cohorts were combined, given the smaller number of patients outside of the primary cohort.


CONCLUSIONS
Glaucoma coding variation in administrative data sets has limited impact on analyses of resource consumption among open-angle glaucoma patients.
Lee
Paul P
PP
Duke University Eye Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
Levin
Leonard A
LA
Walt
John G
JG
Chiang
Tina H
TH
Doyle
John J
JJ
Stern
Lee S
LS
Dolgitser
Margarita
M
D000465:Algorithms; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000145:classification*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000145:classification; D003953:Diagnosis-Related Groups / Q000145:classification*; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005260:Female; D005902:Glaucoma, Open-Angle / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006295:Health Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records / Q000145:classification* / Q000592:standards; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States