Enhancing Lyme Disease Surveillance by Using Administrative Claims Data, Tennessee, USA

Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Sep;21(9):1632-4. doi: 10.3201/eid2109.150344.

Abstract

Lyme disease is underreported in the United States. We used insurance administrative claims data to determine the value of such data in enhancing case ascertainment in Tennessee during January 2011-June 2013. Although we identified ≈20% more cases of Lyme disease (5/year), the method was resource intensive and not sustainable in this low-incidence state.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; Tennesee; United States; bacteria; public health surveillance.

MeSH terms

  • Communicable Diseases, Emerging / epidemiology
  • Communicable Diseases, Emerging / prevention & control
  • Diagnosis-Related Groups
  • Epidemiologic Studies*
  • Humans
  • Insurance Claim Reporting / statistics & numerical data*
  • Lyme Disease / epidemiology*
  • Lyme Disease / prevention & control
  • Public Health Surveillance*
  • Quality Assurance, Health Care*
  • Tennessee / epidemiology