NEXT STEP
Currently, we are working on selecting variables of MEPS data that can be used to create clinical cases. There are three files which we are currently investigating.
- “Consolidated”: includes variables for general purpose (https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h129/h129doc.shtml#254Income).
- “Medical Condition”: includes variables related to the medical condition. By using these variables, we can create subsets of data depending on the type of disease. This file includes # of events per care setting (e.g., ER, inpatient, and outpatient) caused by a specific medical condition, too (https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h128/h128doc.shtml).
- “ER”: includes total expenditures per care setting (e.g., ER, inpatient, and outpatient) caused by a specific medical condition. If we are interested in total expenditure, we might need to use this file. There are two more files (inpatient and outpatient). Heejun will work on them if we decide to use expenditure information (https://meps.ahrq.gov/data_stats/download_data/pufs/h126e/h126edoc.shtml)