| The Regie de 1'assurance maladie du Quebec (RAMQ) health insurance databases have been demonstrated to be a valuable research tool for certain illnesses. The purpose of this study was to examine which data from the RAMQ administrative database could be used to accurately diagnose COPD patients, and classify their severity and comorbidity. Methods . Patients with physician-diagnosed COPD were selected using hospital discharge and outpatient records. Information collected from medical chart was compared to information on the same patients from medical service and prescription drug databases. Results. The ICD-9 respiratory diagnostic codes were found to have a sensitivity of 93% identifying COPD in 151 cases and 94% specificity within a group of similar-aged asthmatic patients. The number of prednisone prescriptions over one year accurately separated severe from moderate patients. As well, diagnostic codes showed moderate reliability for indicating the presence of comorbidity. Conclusions. The diagnostic codes of the medical service database were accurate at identifying COPD patients and the prescription drug data was useful for classifying their severity. |
