Population coverage of the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System: a survey of the contents of health insurance registries across Canada

Abstract

Introduction Health insurance registries, which capture insurance coverage and demographic information for entire populations, are a critical component of population health surveillance and research when using administrative data. Lack of standardization of registry information across Canada’s provinces and territories could affect the comparability of surveillance measures. We assessed the contents of health insurance registries across Canada to describe the populations covered and document registry similarities and differences. Methods A survey about the data and population identifiers in health insurance registries was developed by the study team and representatives from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The survey was completed by key informants from most provinces and territories and then descriptively analyzed. Results Responses were received from all provinces; partial responses were received from the Northwest Territories. Demographic information in health insurance registries, such as primary address, date of birth and sex, were captured in all jurisdictions. Data captured on familial relationships, ethnicity and socioeconomic status varied among jurisdictions, as did start and end dates of coverage and frequency of registry updates. Identifiers for specific populations, such as First Nations individuals, were captured in some, but not all jurisdictions. Conclusion Health insurance registries are a rich source of information about the insured populations of the provinces and territories. However, data heterogeneity may affect who is included and excluded in population surveillance estimates produced using administrative health data. Development of a harmonized data framework could support timely and comparable population health research and surveillance results from multi-jurisdiction studies.

Multigenerational Health Research using Population-Based Linked Databases: An International Review

“…In the non-European sites included in our review, health insurance registration files from universal healthcare systems were central to constructing family relationships and structures in both the Canadian province of Manitoba and Taiwan for their entire populations. While many other countries or jurisdictions have universal healthcare, not all have the capability to identify family members through registration numbers [ 48 ].…”

Status of β1-Adrenoceptor Signal Transduction System in Cardiac Hypertrophy and Heart Failure

“…In Canada, more than 100,000 patients with heart failure are diagnosed annually and about 2.6 million adults aged 20 and over are living with this heart disease. Since heart failure is one of the top reasons for hospitalization, the associated healthcare costs have been estimated to reach 2.8 billion by 2030 in this country [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]. However, it should be pointed out that significant advances have been made for the development of medical therapies, which are used for the treatment of this disease.…”