Table 1.
Databases requested in data linkage
| Databases | Description | Date range requested |
|---|---|---|
| 1. IRCC Database21 | Demographic and immigration-related data for all permanent residents to Canada | 1985/04/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 2. BC Vital Statistics22 | Deaths recorded in BC | 1985/04/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 3. BC MSP Registration23 | Dates of registration in the BC MSP | 1985/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 4. BC MSP Physician Billing24 | Outpatient and inpatient physician fee-for-services billing records, as paid by MSP. Includes ICD-9 diagnostic codes (available since 1991/92) and MSP-specific fee-item codes | 1985/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 5. Hospital Discharge Abstracts (DAD)25 | BC hospital discharge records (inpatient and day surgeries). Includes up to 20 ICD diagnostic codes and up to 20 procedure codes. Coding systems are ICD-9-CA/CCI (1991/92 to 2000/01) and ICD-10-CA/CCP (from 2001/02 to present) | 1985/04/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 6. Statistics Canada Census26 | Income quintiles, by 3-digit postal code area (note: quintiles data only available beginning in 1994): ‘Neighbourhood income per person equivalent, household income adjusted for household size’ | 1989/04/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 7. Statistics Canada Income Bands27 | 1000 income bands per year, based on ranking of Revenue Canada's tax filer data of average equalised income per postal code | 1992, 1996, 2002 |
| 8. BC PharmaNet28 | All drugs dispensed from BC community pharmacies (including drugs paid by MSP and private insurers; excluding inpatient drugs in acute care hospitals) | 1996/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 9. BC Provincial TB Registry (BCCDC-iPHIS)29 | Active TB and LTBI diagnostics and treatment in BC30 | 1985/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 10. BC Provincial Renal Agency Database (PROMIS)31 | All chronic kidney disease clinic visits (after first referral to nephrologist), inpatient/outpatient dialysis visits and transplant registration, collected through BC renal clinics and transplant programmes32 33 | 2003/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 11. BC Provincial HIV/AIDS Surveillance Database (BCCDC-HAISIS)34 | All individuals with a positive HIV test done in BC, or reported to the BCCDC. Includes BCCDC confirmatory laboratory testing for HIV antibodies (>95% of all screening tests for HIV in the province), IRCC reporting of HIV-positive status detected through immigration screening medical exams and passive clinician reporting of AIDS cases. Note: mandatory reporting of HIV test-positive status began in 200335 | 1985/01/01 to 2013/12/31 |
| 12. BC Cancer Agency Registry36 | All primary cancers diagnosed in BC residents (obtained from multiple sources, including pathology, cytology, other labs, death certificates and admissions to BC cancer centres)37 | 1985/04/01 to 2013/12/31 |
BC, British Columbia; BCCDC, BC Centre for Disease Control; CCI, Canadian Classification of Interventions; CCP, Canadian Classification of Procedures; DAD, hospital discharge abstract database; ICD, International Classification of Diseases; IRCC, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; MSP=Medical Services Plan.