Developing an algorithm across integrated healthcare systems to identify a history of cancer using electronic medical records.

OBJECTIVE: Tumor registries in integrated healthcare systems (IHCS) have high precision for identifying incident cancer but often miss recently diagnosed cancers or those diagnosed outside of the IHCS. We developed an algorithm using the electronic medical record (EMR) to identify people with a history of cancer not captured in the tumor registry to identify adults, aged 40-65 years, with no history of cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The algorithm was developed at Kaiser Permanente Colorado, and then applied to 7 other IHCS. We included tumor registry data, diagnosis and procedure codes, chemotherapy files, oncology encounters, and revenue data to develop the algorithm. Each IHCS adapted the algorithm to their EMR data and calculated sensitivity and specificity to evaluate the algorithm's performance after iterative chart review. RESULTS: We included data from over 1.26 million eligible people across 8 IHCS; 55 601 (4.4%) were in a tumor registry, and 44848 (3.5%) had a reported cancer not captured in a registry. The common attributes of the final algorithm at each site were diagnosis and procedure codes. The sensitivity of the algorithm at each IHCS was 90.65%-100%, and the specificity was 87.91%-100%. DISCUSSION: Relying only on tumor registry data would miss nearly half of the identified cancers. Our algorithm was robust and required only minor modifications to adapt to other EMR systems. CONCLUSION: This algorithm can identify cancer cases regardless of when the diagnosis occurred and may be useful for a variety of research applications or quality improvement projects around cancer care.

The association of bowel function, participation in life activities, and quality of life in rectal cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether limited participation in life activities is associated with quality of life (QOL) in rectal cancer survivors, and if so, whether this association is independent of bowel function difficulties. METHODS: We surveyed rectal cancer survivors from four healthcare systems about their QOL, bowel function, and participation in life activities. Additional demographic and clinical variables were extracted from the electronic health record. We examined independent associations between bowel function, participation in life activities, and QOL, controlling for potential confounders. We also identified factors, including ostomy status, that correlate with participation in life activities. RESULTS: Of the 527 respondents, 52% were male, 80% were non-Hispanic white, and the mean age was 63. In fully adjusted models for all rectal cancer survivors, participation in life activities was positively associated with QOL, while bowel function was not. Bowel function retained an independent association with QOL for those who previously had an ostomy and were therefore more likely to have a low rectal anastomosis. Lower participation in life activities was correlated with lower self-reported physical and cognitive function, younger age, financial difficulty, and being non-Hispanic white. CONCLUSIONS: Rectal cancer survivors' participation in life activities was strongly associated with QOL, even when controlling for numerous confounders, including bowel function. Identifying ways to improve participation in life activities may be critical to developing rehabilitative and other supportive interventions that optimize QOL among rectal cancer survivors.

Characterizing employment of colorectal cancer survivors using electronic health records.

OBJECTIVE: Although the value of collecting occupational data is well-established, these data are not systematically collected in clinical practice. We assessed the availability of electronic health record (EHR)-based occupation data within a large integrated health care system to determine the feasibility of its use in research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used a mixed-methods approach to extract EHR data and define employment status, employer, and employment industry of 1107 colorectal cancer survivors. This was a secondary analysis of a subset of the Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) colorectal cancer cohort. RESULTS: We categorized the employment industry for 46% of the cohort. Employment status was available for 58% of the cohort. The employer was missing for over 95% of the cohort. CONCLUSION: By combining data from structured and free-text EHR fields, we identified employment status and industry for approximately half of our sample. Findings demonstrate limitations of EHR data and underscore the need for systematic collection of occupation data in clinical practice.

Variation in Colorectal Cancer Stage and Mortality across Large Community-Based Populations: PORTAL Colorectal Cancer Cohort.

INTRODUCTION: Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality can be reduced by effective screening and/or treatment. However, the influence of health care systems on disparities among insured patients is largely unexplored. METHODS: To evaluate insured patients with CRC diagnosed between 2010 and 2014 across 6 diverse US health care systems in the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Patient Outcomes Research To Advance Learning (PORTAL) CRC cohort, we contrasted CRC stage; CRC mortality; all-cause mortality; and influences of demographics, stage, comorbidities, and treatment between health systems. RESULTS: Among 16,211 patients with CRC, there were significant differences between health care systems in CRC stage at diagnosis, CRC-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality. The unadjusted risk of CRC mortality varied from 27% lower to 21% higher than the reference system (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.73, 95% confidence interval = 0.66-0.80 to HR = 1.21, 95% confidence interval = 1.05-1.40; p < 0.01 across systems). Significant differences persisted after adjustment for demographics and comorbidities (p < 0.01); however, adjustment for stage eliminated significant differences (p = 0.24). All-cause mortality among patients with CRC differed approximately 30% between health care systems (HR = 0.89-1.17; p < 0.01). Adjustment for age eliminated significant differences (p = 0.48). DISCUSSION: Differences in CRC survival between health care systems were largely explained by stage at diagnosis, not demographics, comorbidity, or treatment. Given that stage is strongly related to early detection, these results suggest that variation in CRC screening systems represents a modifiable systems-level factor for reducing disparities in CRC survival.

Technology-Enabled Outreach to Patients Taking High-Risk Medications Reduces a Quality Gap in Completion of Clinical Laboratory Testing.

Clinical laboratory quality improvement (QI) efforts can include population test utilization. The authors used a health care organization's Medical Data Warehouse (MDW) to characterize a gap in guideline-concordant laboratory testing recommended for safe use of antirheumatic agents, then tested the effectiveness of laboratory-led, technology-enabled outreach to patients at reducing this gap. Data linkages available through the Kaiser Permanente Colorado MDW and electronic health record were used to identify ambulatory adults taking antirheumatic agents who were due/overdue for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), complete blood count (CBC), or serum creatinine (SCr) testing. Outreach was implemented using an interactive voice response system to send patients text or phone call reminders. Interrupted time series analysis was used to estimate reminder effectiveness. Rates of guideline-concordant testing and testing timeliness in baseline vs. intervention periods were determined using generalized linear models for repeated measures. Results revealed a decrease in percentage of 3763 patients taking antirheumatic agents due/overdue for testing at any given time: baseline 24.3% vs. intervention 17.5% (P < 0.001). Among 3205 patients taking conventional antirheumatic agents, concordance for all ALT testing was baseline 52.8% vs. intervention 65.4% (P < 0.001) among patients chronically using these agents and baseline 20.6% vs. intervention 26.1% (P < 0.001) among patients newly starting these agents. The 95th percentiles for days to ALT testing were baseline 149 vs. intervention 117 among chronic users and baseline 134 vs. intervention 92 among new starts. AST, CBC, and SCr findings were similar. Technology-enabled outreach reminding patients to obtain laboratory testing improves health care system outcomes.

Changes in use of opioid therapy after colon cancer diagnosis: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: To describe patterns of opioid use in cancer survivors. METHODS: In a cohort study of colon cancer patients diagnosed during 1995-2014 and enrolled at two Kaiser Permanente regions, we constructed quarterly measures of opioid use from 1 year before cancer diagnosis through 5 years after diagnosis to examine changes in use. Measures included any use, incident use, regular use (use ≥ 45 days in a 91-day quarter), and average daily dose (converted to morphine milligram equivalent, MME). We also assessed temporal trends of opioid use. RESULTS: Of 2,039 colon cancer patients, 11-15% received opioids in the four pre-diagnosis quarters, 68% in the first quarter after diagnosis, and 15-17% in each subsequent 19 quarters. Regular opioid use increased from 3 to 5% pre-diagnosis to 5-7% post diagnosis. Average dose increased from 15 to 17 MME/day pre-diagnosis to 14-22 MME/day post diagnosis (excluding the quarter in which cancer was diagnosed). Among post-diagnosis opioid users, 73-95% were on a low dose (< 20 MME/day). Over years, regular use of opioids increased in survivorship with no change in dosage. CONCLUSION: Opioid use slightly increased following a colon cancer diagnosis, but high-dose use was rare. Research is needed to differentiate under- versus over-treatment of cancer pain.

Treatment patterns and survival differ between early-onset and late-onset colorectal cancer patients: the patient outcomes to advance learning network.

PURPOSE: Our objective was to describe differences in treatment patterns and survival between early-onset (< 50 years old) and late-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in community-based health systems. METHODS: We used tumor registry and electronic health record data to identify and characterize patients diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum from 2010 to 2014 at six US health systems in the patient outcomes to advance learning (PORTAL) network. We used logistic regression to estimate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing the distribution of tumor characteristics and treatment patterns in early-onset versus late-onset CRC. Cox regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and CIs comparing survival between early- and late-onset CRC patients. RESULTS: There were 1,424 early-onset and 10,810 late-onset CRC cases in our analyses. Compared to late-onset CRC, early-onset CRC was significantly associated with advanced-stage disease, high-grade histology, signet ring histology, and rectal or left colon location. After adjusting for differences in tumor and patient characteristics, early-onset patients were more likely than late-onset patients to have > 12 lymph nodes examined (OR 1.60, CI 1.37-1.87), to receive systemic therapy (chemotherapy or immunotherapy) within 6 months of diagnosis (OR 2.84, CI 2.40-3.37), and to have a reduced risk of CRC-specific death (HR 0.66, CI 0.56-0.79). CONCLUSIONS: Early-onset CRC is associated with aggressive tumor characteristics, distal location, and systemic therapy use. Despite some adverse risk factors, these patients tend to have better survival than older onset patients.

Use of antidepressants after colon cancer diagnosis and risk of recurrence.

OBJECTIVE: Prior research examining the association between use of antidepressants after colon cancer diagnosis and risk of recurrence is scant. We evaluated this association among colon cancer patients diagnosed at two integrated health care delivery systems in the United States. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study of stage I to IIIA colon cancer patients diagnosed at greater than or equal to 18 years of age at Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Kaiser Permanente Washington during 1995 to 2014. We used pharmacy records to identify dispensings for antidepressants and tumor registry records and patients' medical charts to identify cancer recurrences. Using Cox proportional hazards models, we estimated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) of colon cancer recurrence comparing patients who used antidepressants after diagnosis to those who did not. We also evaluated the risk associated with use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) separately. RESULTS: Among the 1923 eligible colon cancer patients, 807 (42%) used an antidepressant after diagnosis and 139 had a colon cancer recurrence during an average 5.6 years of follow-up. Use of antidepressants after colon cancer diagnosis was not associated with risk of recurrence (HR: 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69-1.87). The HR for use of SSRIs was 1.22 (95% CI, 0.64-2.30), and for TCAs, it was 1.18 (95% CI, 0.68-2.07). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that use of antidepressants after colon cancer diagnosis was common and not associated with risk of recurrence. Future larger studies with greater power to examine risk associated with individual antidepressants would be valuable additions to the evidence base.

The longitudinal relationship between food insecurity in older adults with diabetes and emergency department visits, hospitalizations, hemoglobin A1c, and medication adherence.

AIMS: To examine the relationship between food insecurity and emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, A1c, and diabetes medication adherence over one year of follow-up among individuals >65 years with diabetes mellitus. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal cohort study of adults >65 years with diabetes who did (n = 742) or did not (n = 2226) report food insecurity at baseline. We used conditional logistic regression for the ED visits or hospitalization outcomes, and mixed effects models for A1c and non-insulin diabetes medication adherence. RESULTS: In bivariate analyses, individuals with food insecurity were more likely to have an ED visit (OR = 1.40, 95% CI 1.15-1.72) or hospitalization (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.11-1.78) in the year after the food security assessment. In addition, A1c was higher (7.5% vs. 7.2%, p < 0.001). There was no difference in medication adherence. These differences persisted with adjustment for basic demographic and clinical characteristics, but were attenuated with further adjustment for socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in diabetes outcomes by food insecurity status were attenuated by adjustment for socioeconomic status. Adverse outcomes in individuals with diabetes and food insecurity may be driven by effects of food insecurity per se or be mediated by a constellation of basic resource needs or lower socioeconomic status.

Identifying Preanalytic and Postanalytic Laboratory Quality Gaps Using a Data Warehouse and Structured Multidisciplinary Process.

CONTEXT.­: The laboratory total testing process includes preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic phases, but most laboratory quality improvement efforts address the analytic phase. Expanding quality improvement to preanalytic and postanalytic phases via use of medical data warehouses, repositories that include clinical, utilization, and administrative data, can improve patient care by ensuring appropriate test utilization. Cross-department, multidisciplinary collaboration to address gaps and improve patient and system outcomes is beneficial. OBJECTIVE.­: To demonstrate medical data warehouse utility for characterizing laboratory-associated quality gaps amenable to preanalytic or postanalytic interventions. DESIGN.­: A multidisciplinary team identified quality gaps. Medical data warehouse data were queried to characterize gaps. Organizational leaders were interviewed about quality improvement priorities. A decision aid with elements including national guidelines, local and national importance, and measurable outcomes was completed for each gap. RESULTS.­: Gaps identified included (1) test ordering; (2) diagnosis, detection, and documentation, and (3) high-risk medication monitoring. After examination of medical data warehouse data including enrollment, diagnoses, laboratory, pharmacy, and procedures for baseline performance, high-risk medication monitoring was selected, specifically alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, complete blood count, and creatinine testing among patients receiving disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. The test utilization gap was in monitoring timeliness (eg, >60% of patients had a monitoring gap exceeding the guideline recommended frequency). Other contributors to selecting this gap were organizational enthusiasm, regulatory labeling, and feasibility of a significant laboratory role in addressing the gap. CONCLUSIONS.­: A multidisciplinary process facilitated identification and selection of a laboratory medicine quality gap. Medical data warehouse data were instrumental in characterizing gaps.

Risk of colon cancer recurrence in relation to diabetes.

PURPOSE: To describe the association between diabetes and colon cancer recurrence. METHODS: We conducted a cohort study at two integrated health care delivery systems in the United States. Using tumor registry data, we identified patients aged ≥ 18 years when diagnosed with stage I-IIIA adenocarcinomas of the colon during 1995-2014. Pre-existing diabetes was ascertained via diagnosis codes. Medical records were reviewed for eligibility and to abstract recurrence and covariate information. Recurrence was ascertained beginning 90 days after the end of colon cancer treatment (i.e., cohort entry). Recurrence of any cancer or a new primary cancer at any site was a secondary outcome. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations between diabetes at cohort entry and study outcomes. RESULTS: Among the 1,923 eligible patients, 393 (16.7%) had diabetes at cohort entry. Diabetes was not associated with recurrence (HR 0.87; 95% CI 0.56-1.33) or with any subsequent cancer (HR 1.09; 95% CI 0.85-1.40). When the definition of recurrence included second primary colorectal cancer, risk was non-significantly higher in patients with diabetes than without diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of colon cancer recurrence appears to be similar in patients with and without diabetes at diagnosis. IMPACT: Future studies should evaluate the association between diabetes and colorectal cancer outcomes, especially second primary colon cancers, in larger populations.

Food Insecurity in Older Adults in an Integrated Health Care System.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate food insecurity prevalence and develop a statistical prediction model for food insecurity. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente Colorado. PARTICIPANTS: Adult members who completed a pre-Medicare Annual Wellness Visit survey. MEASUREMENTS: Food insecurity was assessed using a single screening question. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics from electronic health records and self-reported characteristics from the survey were used to develop the prediction model. RESULTS: Of 130,208 older adult members between January 2012 and December 2015, 50,097 (38.5%) completed food insecurity screening, 2,859 of whom (5.7% of respondents) reported food insecurity. The prevalence of food insecurity was 10.0% or greater among individuals who were black or Hispanic, had less than high school education, had Medicaid insurance, were extremely obese, had poor health status or quality of life, had depression or anxiety, had impairments in specific activities of daily living, had other nutritional risk factors, or were socially isolated (all p<.001). A multivariable model based on these and other characteristics showed moderate discrimination (c-statistic = 0.74) between individuals with food insecurity and those without and 14.3% of individuals in the highest quintile of risk reported food insecurity. CONCLUSION: Food insecurity is prevalent even in older adults with private-sector healthcare coverage. Specific individual characteristics, and a model based on those characteristics, can identify older adults at higher risk of food insecurity. System-level interventions will be necessary to connect older adults with community-based food resources.

Optimizing patient-reported outcome and risk factor reporting from cancer survivors: a randomized trial of four different survey methods among colorectal cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine response rates and associated costs of different survey methods among colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors. METHODS: We assembled a cohort of 16,212 individuals diagnosed with CRC (2010-2014) from six health plans, and randomly selected 4000 survivors to test survey response rates across four mixed-mode survey administration protocols (in English and Spanish): arm 1, mailed survey with phone follow-up; arm 2, interactive voice response (IVR) followed by mail; arm 3; email linked to web-based survey with mail follow-up; and arm 4, email linked to web-based survey followed by IVR. RESULTS: Our overall response rate was 50.2%. Arm 1 had the highest response rate (59.9%), followed by arm 3 (51.9%), arm 2 (51.2%), and arm 4 (37.9%). Response rates were higher among non-Hispanic whites in all arms than other racial/ethnic groups (p < 0.001), among English (51.5%) than Spanish speakers (36.4%) (p < 0.001), and among higher (53.7%) than lower (41.4%) socioeconomic status (p < 0.001). Survey arms were roughly comparable in cost, with a difference of only 8% of total costs between the most (arm 2) and least (arm 3) expensive arms. CONCLUSIONS: Mailed surveys followed by phone calls achieved the highest response rate; email invitations and online surveys cost less per response. Electronic methods, even among those with email availability, may miss important populations including Hispanics, non-English speakers, and those of lower socioeconomic status. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: Our results demonstrate effective methods for capturing patient-reported outcomes, inform the relative benefits/disadvantages of the different methods, and identify future research directions.

The Role of Hemoglobin Laboratory Test Results for the Detection of Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding Outcomes Resulting from the Use of Medications in Observational Studies.

INTRODUCTION: The identification of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) bleeding and perforated ulcers in claims data typically relies on inpatient diagnoses. The use of hemoglobin laboratory results might increase the detection of UGI events that do not lead to hospitalization. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to evaluate whether hemoglobin results increase UGI outcome identification in electronic databases, using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as a test case. METHODS: From three data partner sites within the Mini-Sentinel Distributed Database, we identified NSAID initiators aged ≥18 years between 2008 and 2013. Numbers of events and risks within 30 days after NSAID initiation were calculated for four mutually exclusive outcomes: (1) inpatient UGI diagnosis of bleeding or gastric ulcer (standard claims-based definition without laboratory results); (2) non-inpatient UGI diagnosis AND ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease; (3) ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease without UGI diagnosis in any clinical setting; (4) non-inpatient UGI diagnosis, without ≥3 g/dl hemoglobin decrease. RESULTS: We identified 2,289,772 NSAID initiators across three sites. Overall, 45.3% had one or more hemoglobin result available within 365 days before or 30 days after NSAID initiation; only 6.8% had results before and after. Of 7637 potential outcomes identified, outcome 1 accounted for 21.7%, outcome 2 for 0.8%, outcome 3 for 34.3%, and outcome 4 for 43.3%. Potential cases identified by outcome 3 were largely not suggestive of UGI events. Outcomes 1, 2, and 4 had similar distributions of specific UGI diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS: Using available hemoglobin result values combined with non-inpatient UGI diagnoses identified few additional UGI cases. Non-inpatient UGI diagnostic codes may increase outcome detection but would require validation.

Randomized trial of telephone outreach to improve medication adherence and metabolic control in adults with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Medication nonadherence is a major obstacle to better control of glucose, blood pressure (BP), and LDL cholesterol in adults with diabetes. Inexpensive effective strategies to increase medication adherence are needed. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: In a pragmatic randomized trial, we randomly assigned 2,378 adults with diabetes mellitus who had recently been prescribed a new class of medication for treating elevated levels of glycated hemoglobin (A1C) ≥8% (64 mmol/mol), BP ≥140/90 mmHg, or LDL cholesterol ≥100 mg/dL, to receive 1) one scripted telephone call from a diabetes educator or clinical pharmacist to identify and address nonadherence to the new medication or 2) usual care. Hierarchical linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the impact on 1) the first medication fill within 60 days of the prescription; 2) two or more medication fills within 180 days of the prescription; and 3) clinically significant improvement in levels of A1C, BP, or LDL cholesterol. RESULTS: Of the 2,378 subjects, 89.3% in the intervention group and 87.4% in the usual-care group had sufficient data to analyze study outcomes. In intent-to-treat analyses, intervention was not associated with significant improvement in primary adherence, medication persistence, or intermediate outcomes of care. Results were similar across subgroups of patients defined by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and study site, and when limiting the analysis to those who completed the intended intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This low-intensity intervention did not significantly improve medication adherence or control of glucose, BP, or LDL cholesterol. Wide use of this strategy does not appear to be warranted; alternative approaches to identify and improve medication adherence and persistence are needed.