The co-occurrence of multimorbidity and polypharmacy among middle-aged and older adults in Canada: A cross-sectional study using the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Background: There is an increasing prevalence of multiple conditions (multimorbidity) and multiple medications (polypharmacy) across many populations. Previous literature has focused on the prevalence and impact of these health states separately, but there is a need to better understand their co-occurrence.

Methods And Findings: This study reported on multimorbidity and polypharmacy among middle-aged and older adults in two national datasets: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) and the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Validation of algorithms to identify human immunodeficiency virus cases using administrative data in Manitoba.

Objective: Population-based administrative data are valuable for describing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases, and their health status and outcomes. Our objective was to validate algorithms consisting of physician visits, hospitalizations, and antiretroviral prescriptions against positive confirmatory HIV laboratory tests to identify individuals living with HIV.

Methods: The primary validation cohort consisted of adult Manitoban residents with at least 3 years of health coverage between 2007 and 2018.

Describing primary care patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across Canada: a quasi-experimental pre-post design cohort study using national practice-based research network data.

Objective: The objective was to analyse how the pandemic affected primary care access and comprehensiveness in chronic disease management by comparing primary care patterns before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic.

Design: We conducted a quasi-experimental pre-post design cohort study and reported indicators for the 21 months before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Setting: We used electronic medical record data from primary care clinics enrolled in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2021.

Validation of adult asthma case definitions for primary care sentinel surveillance.

Background: Most asthma diagnoses and patient care take place in primary care settings. Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer an opportunity to utilize technology to improve asthma diagnosis and care. The purpose of this study was to create and validate separate case definitions for suspected and confirmed asthma in primary care EMRs, to enable surveillance, benchmarking, and quality improvement in primary care settings.

Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Primary Health Care for Chronic Conditions in Canada: Protocol for a Retrospective Pre-Post Study Using National Practice-Based Research Network Data.

Background: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns that interruptions to the health care system may have led to changes in primary care, especially for care of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure. Such changes may have longer term implications for population health.

Objective: This study aims to describe the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on indicators of primary care access, comprehensiveness, and appropriateness among adult patients, as well as on specific indictors of chronic conditions.

Validation of a primary care electronic medical records case definition for eczema: retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: To validate case definitions for eczema using primary care Electronic Medical Record (EMR) data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentential Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Methods: This study used EMR data from 1,574 primary care providers in seven Canadian provinces, representing 689,301 patients. Using a subset of patient records seven medical students or family medicine residents created a reference set of 1,772 patients.

Screening patterns and identification of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese children in canadian primary care.

Context. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children. There is no epidemiological data on rates of pediatric NAFLD in Canada.

Integrating User Preferences for Asthma Tools and Clinical Guidelines Into Primary Care Electronic Medical Records: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that poses a substantial burden on individuals and the health care system. Despite published national guidelines for the diagnosis and management of asthma, considerable care gaps exist. Suboptimal adherence to asthma diagnosis and management guidelines contributes to poor patient outcomes.

Primary care asthma surveillance: a review of knowledge translation tools and strategies for quality improvement.

Background: Viable knowledge translation (KT) strategies are increasingly sought to improve asthma diagnosis, particularly in primary care. Despite this understanding, practical KT tools to support primary care practitioners are not widely available. Electronic medical records (EMRs) offer an opportunity to optimize the diagnosis and surveillance of chronic diseases such as asthma, and support quality improvement initiatives that increase adherence to guideline-recommended care.

Screening Patterns of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children with Obesity in Canadian Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common pediatric chronic liver disease, and children with a body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile are recommended to be screened for NAFLD by liver enzymes.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the frequency and predictors of screening for NAFLD among children with obesity in Canada and to evaluate a sample of children with suspected NAFLD.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network, a repository of electronic medical record data from Canadian primary care practices.

Characterizing primary care patients with posttraumatic stress disorder using electronic medical records: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has significant morbidity and economic costs. This study describes the prevalence and characteristics of patients with PTSD using primary care electronic medical record (EMR) data.

Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used EMR data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Comprehensiveness of care for women with depression: Association between primary care use and cervical cancer screening.

Objective: To explore comprehensiveness of care in patients with depression by examining associations between a diagnosis of depression, frequency of primary care visits, and Papanicolaou test completion.

Design: Cross-sectional retrospective survey using electronic medical record data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network.

Setting: Primary care practices in Ontario.

Characterizing posttraumatic stress disorder in primary care using electronic medical records: a retrospective cohort study.

Context: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic mental health disorder associated with significant morbidity and economic cost. Primary care providers are frequently involved in the ongoing management of patients experiencing PTSD, as well as related comorbid conditions. Despite recognized need to enhance PTSD management in primary care settings, knowledge regarding its prevalence in these settings is limited.

Primary care provider diagnosed eczema within electronic medical records from seven canadian provinces.

Context: Most epidemiological research on eczema has largely relied on patient survey data. With the increasing use of electronic medical records (EMR) in primary care, there has been a shift in epidemiological research towards the use of validated case definitions to study disease.

Objective: Apply a validated case definition for eczema to EMR data from primary care providers participating in the Canadian Primary Care Sentential Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) to determine the prevalence of diagnosed eczema in Canada and describe patient's characteristics including risk factors and comorbidities.

A cross-sectional study evaluating cardiovascular risk and statin prescribing in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network database.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Canada. Assessment and management of CVD risk is essential in reducing disease burden. This includes both clinical risk factors and socioeconomic factors, though few studies report on socioeconomic status in relation to CVD risk and treatment.

Detecting Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network: First Steps.

Background: A recent feasibility assessment of quality indicators for nonvalvular atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter (NVAF/AFL) identified the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network, a national outpatient electronic medical record (EMR) system, as a data source for measurement. As a first step, we adapted and validated an existing EMR case definition.

Methods: A diagnosis of NVAF/AFL was defined using International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes (427.

Characteristics associated with pediatric growth measurement collection in electronic medical records: a retrospective observational study.

Background: Complete growth measurements are an essential part of pediatric care providing a proxy for a child's overall health. This study describes the frequency of well-child visits, documented growth measurements, and clinic and provider factors associated with measurement.

Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional study utilizing electronic medical records (EMRs) from primary care clinics between 2015 and 2017 in Manitoba, Canada.

Validation of an EMR algorithm to measure the prevalence of ADHD in the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN).

Background: Building and validating electronic algorithms to identify patients with specific disease profiles using health data is becoming increasingly important to disease surveillance and population health management. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an algorithm to find patients with ADHD diagnoses within primary care electronic medical records (EMR); and then use the algorithm to describe the epidemiology of ADHD from 2008 to 2015 in a Canadian Primary care sample.

Methods: This was a cross sectional time series that used data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), a repository of primary care EMR data.

Detection of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: the past, present and future.

Background: Most patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency remain undiagnosed and therefore do not benefit from current therapies or become eligible for research studies of new treatments under development. Improving the detection rate for AATD is therefore a high priority for the Alpha-1 Foundation. A workshop was held on June 23, 2019 in Orlando, Florida during which stakeholders from the research, pharmaceutical, and patient communities focused on the topic of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency detection.

Data quality in healthcare: A report of practical experience with the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network data.

Data quality (DQ) is the degree to which a given dataset meets a user's requirements. In the primary healthcare setting, poor quality data can lead to poor patient care, negatively affect the validity and reproducibility of research results and limit the value that such data may have for public health surveillance. To extract reliable and useful information from a large quantity of data and to make more effective and informed decisions, data should be as clean and free of errors as possible.

Surveillance of concussion-related injuries using electronic medical records from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN): a proof-of-concept.

Introduction: Previous studies on traumatic brain injury trends in Canada have been restricted to hospitalization and emergency department visit data. However, many concussion patients may present first, or only, to family physicians. Therefore, the true burden of concussion in Canada is likely underestimated.

Quality of Chronic Kidney Disease Management in Canadian Primary Care.

Importance: Although patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are routinely managed in primary care settings, no nationally representative study has assessed the quality of care received by these patients in Canada.

Objective: To evaluate the current state of CKD management in Canadian primary care practices to identify care gaps to guide development and implementation of national quality improvement initiatives.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cross-sectional study leveraged Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network data from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2015, to develop a cohort of 46 162 patients with CKD managed in primary care practices.

Prevalence and Demographics of CKD in Canadian Primary Care Practices: A Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Surveillance systems enable optimal care delivery and appropriate resource allocation, yet Canada lacks a dedicated surveillance system for chronic kidney disease (CKD). Using data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN), a national chronic disease surveillance system, this study describes the geographic, sociodemographic, and clinical variations in CKD prevalence in the Canadian primary care context.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 559,745 adults in primary care in 5 provinces across Canada from 2010 through 2015.