Validating opioid use disorder diagnoses in administrative data: a commentary on existing evidence and future directions

Jeffrey F Scherrer; Mark D Sullivan; Marc R LaRochelle; Richard Grucza

doi:10.1186/s13722-023-00405-x

Validating opioid use disorder diagnoses in administrative data: a commentary on existing evidence and future directions

Addict Sci Clin Pract. 2023 Aug 17;18(1):49. doi: 10.1186/s13722-023-00405-x.

Authors

Jeffrey F Scherrer^{1

2

3}, Mark D Sullivan⁴, Marc R LaRochelle⁵, Richard Grucza^{6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Family and Community Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, USA. [email protected].
² Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA. [email protected].
³ The AHEAD Institute, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, USA. [email protected].
⁴ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of Washington School of Medicine, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA.
⁵ Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit, Section of General Internal Medicine, School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
⁶ Department of Family and Community Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, USA.
⁷ The AHEAD Institute, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, 1402 South Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO, USA.

Abstract

Background: A valid opioid use disorder (OUD) identification algorithm for use in administrative medical record data would enhance investigators' ability to study consequences of OUD, OUD treatment seeking and treatment outcomes.

Main body: Existing studies indicate ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes for opioid abuse and dependence do not accurately measure OUD. However, critical appraisal of existing literature suggests alternative validation methods would improve the validity of OUD identification algorithms in administrative data. Chart abstraction may not be sufficient to validate OUD, and primary data collection via structured diagnostic interviews might be an ideal gold standard.

Conclusion and commentary: Generating valid OUD identification algorithms is critical for OUD research and quality measurement in real world health care settings.

Keywords: Administrative data; Opioid use disorder; Opioids; Validity.

MeSH terms

Algorithms*
Data Collection
Humans
Opioid-Related Disorders* / diagnosis
Opioid-Related Disorders* / epidemiology
Research Design