Discharge data for surveillance of cancer care
Fedeli, U.
Epidemiologia e Prevenzione 35(2): 144-148
2011
ISSN/ISBN: 1120-9763 PMID: 21628760 Document Number: 648129
The debate on the use of hospital discharge records in epidemiological studies focused in Italy on biased estimates of tumor incidence and survival produced through analyses of hospitalization data. By contrast, despite limitations in completeness and accuracy which may increase with the shift of delivered health care towards non-hospital settings, hospital discharge records are among the most useful - and still underused - tools for the evaluation of patterns of care in cancer patients. Such analyses are rarely carried out in Italy; a striking demonstration comes from cancer surgery which, with the exception of breast cancer surgery, has been the issue of few population-based studies. Experiences from the United States show how analyses of hospital discharge records, cancer registries data, their linked archives, as well as of hospital-based registries, can be effective and complementary tools for the surveillance of major patterns in cancer therapy.