Linking NYS Cancer Registry Data to Medicare, Medicaid and Hospital Discharge Files to Assess Breast and Colorectal Cancer Care

The State of New York collects vast amounts of data to monitor the health of its citizens and administer public health programs. Traditionally these programs have worked independently, with limited collaboration or data sharing. Our broader project seeks to bring diverse sources of data and expertise together to examine the quality of cancer care delivery, from early detection to survival, with an emphasis on breast and colorectal cancer. To accomplish this, we are undertaking a historic linkage between the New York State Cancer Registry, the New York State Medicaid Program, statewide hospital discharge data (SPARCS), and federal Medicare claims data. Each of these data sources contains distinctive information not present in the other sources, yielding a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This poster presents preliminary results from the initial linkage which highlight the differences between the Medicaid and non-Medicaid populations.