SEER-CAHPS: A national population-based data resource to evaluate patient-centered cancer care

Background: Delivery of patient-centered cancer care includes a focus on the preferences and values of individuals with cancer. SEER-CAHPS is a new data resource developed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) linking cancer registry data from NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program with Medicare claims and patient experience of care collected by the Medicare Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) survey. We report on the unique data available in SEER-CAHPS for population-based assessments of patient experience and discuss several studies of patient-centered care conducted using these data. Methods: SEER-CAHPS includes SEER cancer registry data from 1973-2013 (including type/stage of cancer at diagnosis, patient sociodemographic characteristics, and mortality), Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) claims data from 2002-2015, and Medicare CAHPS survey responses from 1997-2015 (including patient-reported health status and experience of care ratings). CAHPS data in SEER-CAHPS include global ratings of overall care, personal doctor, specialist, health plan, and prescription drug plan and composite ratings of Doctor Communication, Care Coordination, Getting Needed Care, and Getting Care Quickly. The data also contain optional survey weights to account for the CAHPS sampling design. Results: SEER-CAHPS currently includes 249,474 individuals with a history of cancer documented in SEER. Individuals enrolled in both FFS Medicare (36,284 with a CAHPS survey prior to cancer diagnosis, 64,642 with a survey after diagnosis) and Medicare Advantage (70,378 with a survey before cancer diagnosis, 78,170 with a survey after diagnosis) are included. The database also includes 805,124 CAHPS respondents without cancer from SEER regions (FFS: 326,476; MA: 478,648). These data allow assessments of the impacts of patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and self-reported general and mental health status on patient experience of care. SEER-CAHPS has been used to examine factors associated with experiences in individuals diagnosed with cancer during their last year of life; experiences of cancer survivors; and experiences of dually eligible (Medicare-Medicaid) cancer patients. A recent analysis focused on associations of their experiences of care with receipt of guideline-concordant follow-up care among people with colorectal cancer. Online information (https://healthcaredelivery.cancer.gov/seer-cahps/) provides details on variables in SEER-CAHPS, instructions for obtaining these data, and other researcher resources. Conclusions: SEER-CAHPS is an important population science resource for assessing treatment patterns, unmet needs, and other factors to enhance patient-centered cancer care. Citation Format: Michael T. Halpern, Michelle Mollica, Lisa M. Lines, Julia Cohen, Erin E. Kent. SEER-CAHPS: A national population-based data resource to evaluate patient-centered cancer care [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3366.