Identifying incident oral and pharyngeal cancer cases using Medicare claims.

Background: Baseline and trend data for oral and pharyngeal cancer incidence is limited. A new algorithm was derived using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database to create an algorithm to identify incident cases of oral and pharyngeal cancer using Medicare claims.

Methods: Using a split-sample approach, Medicare claims' procedure and diagnosis codes were used to generate a new algorithm to identify oral and pharyngeal cancer cases and validate its operating characteristics.

Evaluating the Completeness of the SEER-Medicare Linked Database for Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer.

Oral and pharyngeal cancer is a persistent oral health problem. Baseline and trend data to measure progress are lacking. Our long-term goal is to create an algorithm using Medicare claims to identify oral and pharyngeal cancer cases among those ages 65 and older.