Deterministic and Probabilistic Record Linkage: an Application to Primary Care Data
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Introduction
In the last decades, the availability of electronic records routinely collected in various health care settings has increased. The data sources include clinical databases, such as primary care databases, and administrative databases, such as electronic health record of hospital admissions, in-hospital procedures, and reimbursed medications. These data present opportunities for innovative research to improve patient care and to inform decisions in public health and clinical practice [1, 2].
In order to take advantage of the available data sources, linking procedures are important and consist of matching records of two or more datasets by means of common identifiers [3].
The difficulties of record linkage vary with the structure and the quality of the databases being linked. The linking variables may not uniquely identify an individual, are prone to errors and/or can be missing.
Two approaches for record linkage are possible, namely the deterministic and the probabilistic...
Notes
Funding
This study has been supported by the Italian College of General Practitioners and Primary Care.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interests
None.
References
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