title: Assessment of administrative claims data for public health reporting of Salmonella in Tennessee.
abstract: In the USA, approximately 4% of the estimated 1 million Salmonella infections occurring annually are reported to public health. Administrative claims data from large health insurance companies capture disease-specific data which could potentially enhance public health surveillance. To determine the utility of medical claims data for public health reporting of Salmonella, we assessed medical claims data from BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) members compared to Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) surveillance data. BCBST Salmonella cases diagnosed during 2007-2011 were matched to TDH Salmonella cases reported during the same time period. Matches and non-matches were validated using medical records. Of the 450 BCBST cases identified, 72% matched TDH cases. All culture-confirmed BCBST cases were reported to TDH. Non-matched BCBST cases included clinical diagnoses which were culture negative or not tested. Our findings indicate administrative claims data are not currently a viable mechanism for enhancing routine reporting of Salmonella infections.
authors: Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness, Nashville, Tennessee, USA CDC/CSTE Applied Epidemiology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors: Ellyn
authors: E
authors: Marder
authors: Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Garman
authors: Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors: Timothy F
authors: TF
authors: Jones
authors: Tennessee Department of Health, Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
authors: John
authors: J
authors: Dunn
authors: BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA.
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: Jones
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D018563:Disease Notification; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007345:Insurance Claim Review; D007348:Insurance, Health; D062486:Public Health Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Salmonella; administrative claims; public health surveillance