Identifying neonatal intensive care (NICU) admissions using administrative claims data

What is it about?

This study aimed to create a reliable method for identifying Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions using administrative claims data. The researchers used data from Optum's de-identified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database (CDM) spanning from 2016 to 2020. The results showed that, on average, revenue codes alone identified more NICU hospitalizations compared to CPT codes alone. The combination of CPT and revenue codes or the use of either CPT or revenue codes captured the most NICU hospitalizations, aligning with preterm birth rates. Gestational age and birthweight codes alone identified the fewest potential NICU hospitalizations.

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Why is it important?

This study successfully developed a robust definition for identifying neonatal admissions using administrative data. The identified NICU codes are adaptable, repeatable, and flexible for use in other datasets. This work contributes to improving the accuracy and consistency of identifying NICU admissions through administrative claims data.