Objective

To evaluate the quality of a multiyear linkage between the Colorado all-payer claims database (APCD) and the Colorado Central Cancer Registry.

Data sources

Secondary 2012–2017 data from the APCD and the Colorado Cancer Registry.

Study design

Descriptive analysis of the proportion of cases captured by the linkage in relation to the cases reported by the registry.

Data collection/extraction methods

We used probabilistic linkage to combine records from both data sources for all patients diagnosed with cancer.

Results

We successfully linked 93% of the 146,884 patients in the registry. Approximately 63% of linked patients were perfect matches on five identifiers. Of partial matches, 81.6% were matched on four identifiers with missing or partial Social Security Numbers. The linkage rate was lower for uninsured patients at diagnosis (74.7%) or patients with private plans (89.4%) but close to 100% for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. Most of the 29% of patients who did not have claims at the time of diagnosis were covered by private plans that may not submit claims.

Conclusions

APCD-registry linkages are a promising source of data to conduct population-based research from multiple payers. However, not all payers submit claims, and the quality of the data may vary by state.