Coverage uncertainty range: A new method for calculating uncertainty around summary statistics in healthcare quality indicators

Authors

  • Kari Krizak Halle Department of Medical Quality Registries, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
  • Tormod Aarlott Digre InMeta Consulting, Trondheim, Norway
  • Ragna Elise Støre Department of Medical Quality Registries, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
  • Torunn Varmdal Department of Medical Quality Registries, St. Olav’s University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5324/nje.v31i1-2.5617

Abstract

Data from clinical health registries, such as medical quality registries, are often used as basis for healthcare
quality indicators (QI). To aid the interpretation of quality indicators and support decisions, it is important
to quantify the uncertainty around the QI summary statistics. In this paper we suggest a novel method for
quantifying such uncertainty: the Coverage uncertainty range. The method is based on the size of the
population present in the register relative to the total relevant population and does not make any assumptions
about the sampling strategy or the value of the summary statistic. Furthermore, using both simulated data
and real-life data from a Norwegian medical quality registry, we illustrate why using confidence intervals
when presenting healthcare quality indicators may lead to erroneous conclusions.

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Published

2023-10-20

How to Cite

Halle, . K. K. ., Digre, T. A. ., Støre , R. E. ., & Varmdal, T. . (2023). Coverage uncertainty range: A new method for calculating uncertainty around summary statistics in healthcare quality indicators. Norsk Epidemiologi, 31(1-2). https://doi.org/10.5324/nje.v31i1-2.5617

Issue

Vol. 31 No. 1-2 (2023): Vol. 31 No. 1-2 (2023): Tema: Medisinske kvalitetsregistere i Norge

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Kari Krizak Halle, Tormod Aarlott Digre, Ragna Elise Støre , Torunn Varmdal

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