SEER-Medicare: Fact Sheet
The SEER-Medicare Data
The SEER-Medicare data are a unique resource that can be used for research related to the healthcare provided
to persons with cancer. The database results from the linkage of two large population-based data sources: the
Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries data and the Medicare enrollment and claims
files. The SEER program collects information about cancer site, stage, and histology for persons newly diagnosed
with cancer who reside in one of the SEER geographic areas. Medicare’s master enrollment file is used to identify
which persons in the SEER data are Medicare beneficiaries. For people who are Medicare eligible, the SEERMedicare
data include claims for covered health care services, including hospital, physician, outpatient, home
health, and hospice bills. The SEER-Medicare data include over 2.4 million persons with cancer -- its linkage being a
collaborative effort of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the SEER registries, and the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS).
Potential Uses of the SEER-Medicare Data
The linked SEER-Medicare data can be used for a number of studies that span the continuum of cancer
control activities.
| Cancer Control Continuum |
|---|
| Diagnosis/Treatment |
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Survivorship |
|
Second Occurrence |
|
Terminal |
- Patterns of care
- Perioperative complications
- Volume outcomes studies
- Extent of staging
- Comorbidities
|
- Late effects of treatment
- Post-diagnostic surveillance
- Treatment of prevalent cancers
- Survival
|
- Rates of second primaries
- Relationship of initial treatment to second primaries
|
- Use of hospice services
- Patterns of care during the last year of life
|
Health disparities, quality of care, and cost of care
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A complete list of publications using these data can be found at
http://healthservices.cancer.gov/seermedicare/overview/publications.html.
Persons included in the SEER-Medicare Data
The SEER-Medicare data include cases for the years each registry has been part of the SEER program. Medicare
claims since 1991 are available for two cohorts of people included in the SEER-Medicare data -- persons with
cancer and a random sample of Medicare beneficiaries residing in the SEER areas who do not have cancer.
Information from the non-cancer group can be used for comparative purposes, such as estimating the cost of care
or the use of specific tests or procedures among Medicare beneficiaries who do not have cancer. Data for the
non-cancer cases can also be combined with the data for the cancer cases to conduct population-based analyses
of testing, treatment, and costs within the SEER areas.
How to Obtain SEER-Medicare Data
Maintaining patient and provider confidentiality is a primary concern of NCI, the SEER registries, and CMS.
Although the SEER-Medicare data are de-identified, because of the breadth of the data, the SEER-Medicare data
are not public use files. Investigators are required to obtain approval in order to acquire data. The purpose of the
approval process is not to critique the methodology or merits of proposed projects, but to ensure the confidentiality
of the patients and providers in SEER areas. NCI will work with investigators requesting data files to balance their
research needs with those of the individuals and institutions included in the data.
Related Funding Opportunities
Researchers can seek support for analyses using the SEER-Medicare data from
several NCI initiatives:
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