Methods used to identify and assess asthma patients from electronic health records (EHRs) are widely inconsistent and are insufficiently described.
Researchers at the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research found that although there are a growing number of research studies that use EHRs to study asthma, but no standard methods for identifying and assessing asthma patients from EHRs exist.
Systematic scoping review
In a systematic scoping review recently published in the European Respiratory Journal, Al Sallakh et al. examined the methods used to define asthma, asthma severity, control and exacerbation from EHRs in the recent literature.
Wide variation, inconsistent methods, suboptimal reporting
They found wide variations and inconsistencies in these methods across studies. These variations reflect not only the differences in the data used, but also, a fundamental lack of consensus on the clinical definitions of asthma and its outcomes.
These variations were further compounded by suboptimal reporting. The majority of the reviewed studies provided no evidence to support the validity of algorithms.
Suboptimal reporting on implementation and validity of methods compromises transparency and reproducibility of research.
Scientific consensus required
Given the substantial growth in asthma literature that uses EHR data, the authors emphasise the need for reaching scientific consensus on asthma clinical definitions and algorithms.
They also call for an increased adoption of the RECORD statement by the research community which aims to improve the reporting of studies conducted using routinely collected EHR data.
Full paper
Link to the paper in the European Respiratory Journal
Cite the paper as:
Al Sallakh M, Vasileiou E, Rodgers SE, Lyons RA, Sheikh A, Davies G. Defining asthma and assessing asthma outcomes using electronic health record data: a systematic scoping review. Eur Respir J. 2017 49: 1700204; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.00204-2017