Study population text

Data will be ascertained from the Thomson-Reuters Marketscan database, which contains administrative healthcare data among an insured population in the US between 2000 and 2009. The MarketScan® Databases capture person-specific clinical utilization, expenditures, and enrollment across inpatient, outpatient, and prescription drug from a selection of large employers, health plans, and government and public organizations (MarketScan Users manual). The MarketScan Databases link paid claims and encounter data to detailed patient information across sites and types of providers, and over time. The annual medical databases include private sector health data from approximately 100 payers. Historically, more than 500 million claim records are available in the MarketScan Databases. These data represent the medical experience of insured employees and their dependents for active employees, early retirees, COBRA continues and Medicare-eligible retirees with employer-provided Medicare supplemental