Bmc Med Res Methodol
-
Bmc Med Res Methodol · Nov 2020
Patient-specific record linkage between emergency department and hospital admission data for a cohort of people who inject drugs: methodological considerations for frequent presenters.
People who inject drugs (PWID) have been identified as frequent users of emergency department (ED) and hospital inpatient services. The specific challenges of record linkage in cohorts with numerous administrative health records occurring in close proximity are not well understood. Here, we present a method for patient-specific record linkage of ED and hospital admission data for a cohort of PWID. ⋯ Linking ED visits with subsequent hospital admissions in PWID requires access to date and time variables for accurate temporal sorting, especially for same-day presentations. Selecting time-windows to capture linked records requires discretion. Researchers risk under-ascertainment of hospital admissions if using ED data alone.