title: Persistent asthma defined using HEDIS versus survey criteria.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the relationships between persistent asthma defined by administrative versus survey data and their stability over time.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal survey and retrospective administrative database.
  
  
  METHODS
  Administrative data were used to identify patients meeting the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) criteria for persistent asthma in year 1 (2006). At the end of year 2 and on 3 occasions during year 3, patients were mailed a survey to define persistent asthma based on symptoms and medication use in the prior month and exacerbations in the prior 12 months. Administrative data were also used to define medical utilization for asthma in year 3.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 13,833 eligible patients, 2895 (20.9%) returned the survey; 2751 of these respondents reported physician-diagnosed asthma, of whom 2517 (91.5%) had survey-defined persistent asthma. Patients having survey-defined persistent asthma (68.0%) were more likely to requalify as having HEDIS-defined persistent asthma in year 2 than patients not having survey-defined persistent asthma (22.2%). However, 81.6% of survey respondents who did not requalify as having HEDIS-defined persistent asthma in year 2 had survey-defined persistent asthma. Patients with survey-defined persistent asthma in year 2 had significantly more medical utilization for asthma in year 3 than patients without survey-defined persistent asthma. Approximately 82% of the 799 patients completing all 4 surveys had persistent asthma on all surveys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HEDIS-defined persistent asthma is generally consistent with survey-defined persistent asthma. Persistent asthma usually remains persistent over a 3-year period, indicating that it is a stable characteristic of asthma for most patients. The low survey response rate suggests that further population-based studies will be necessary to confirm the validity and generalizability of our study findings regarding persistent asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, 7060 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, San Diego, CA 92111, USA. michael.x.schatz@kp.org
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Zeiger
authors.forename: Su-Jau T
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wansu
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.forename: Shiva G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Sajjan
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Allen-Ramey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006296:Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists