ABSTRACT
Background : Health insurance claims contain invaluable data for epidemiological survey. However their use for research purposes has been hampered by both bureaucratic red-tape and technical limitations. These include the lack of legal rationale for disclosure and the lack of electronic data transfer. In response to the recent advancement in these field, such as the governmental policy change to allow disclosure of the claims to patients and a rapid computerization of the claims, researchers interested in health insurance claims held liaison meetings to exchange views and know-hows to facilitate the epidemiological research using health insurance claims.<BR>Reports on the Meeting : The liason meetings have so far been held twice as part of Japan Public Health Association annual assembly, at Yamagata in 1995 and at Yokohama in 1997, both sponsored by the author. Fourteen researchers presented their research activities using health insurance claims and discussed with the attendants on their experience to overcome the bureaucratic red-tape and technical limitations. Two of the presenters beside the author were pharmacoepidemiologists : Dr. Hayashi addressed the value and possibilities of the claims as data source for pharmacoepidemiology and Dr. Kubota proposed PEM (Prescription Event Monitoring) using health insurance claims as triggers to complement the present voluntary ADR reporting.<BR>Implications : Since the bureaucratic and technical obstacles may be better handled through a coordinated and liaisoned action of the researchers, it is necessary to form a consortium of researchers and professionals who have any interest in health insurance claims regardless of their purposes and make guidelines and recommendations to assure legitimate and appropriate utilization of the potentially sensitive but useful individual information.