OBJECTIVES: Evaluating how patients navigate the health care ecosystem is a critical foundational component to maximizing potential of novel therapies or services. Appropriate linkage of patient data from multiple sources can help uncover deeper insights into the patient journey along the healthcare continuum. The purpose of this study was to highlight the challenges of reliably and compliantly integrating different data sources as well as best practices to capture a more holistic patient journey map. Specifically, the study integrated electronic health record (EHR) data with open medical and pharmacy claims data, as well as social determinants of health (SDOH) data among patients with prostate cancer to obtain a more complete view of the disease burden and treatment journey.

METHODS: Patients treated for prostate cancer between January 2016 – December 2021 were identified from the iKnowMed oncology EHR database. These patients were linked to a third-party open claims data source (medical and pharmacy) as well as a third-party SDOH dataset in order to capture a rich patient journey map, including: demographic information, urology procedures received before their prostate cancer diagnosis, cancer treatments received inside and out of the oncology clinic setting, and any evidence of mortality or hospice claims after treatment completion.

RESULTS: A total of 24,426 treated prostate cancer patients from iKnowMed were identified. Characteristics such as household size, education, income, and marital status were captured from the SDOH dataset for 22% (5,263) of patients. Nearly 60% of patients had prescription pharmacy claims and out of pocket costs available. 21% (5,011) patients had medical claims available from urologists prior to their cancer treatment documented in the EHR.

CONCLUSIONS: Linking patient data can create a more holistic view of a patient’s cancer treatment journey and help fill the existing gaps and limitations that arise from relying on EHR data alone.