A Standardized Guideline for Assessing Extracted Electronic Health Records Cohorts: A Scoping Review.

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Biostatistics
• Data Science

Background:

• Secondary use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) data is common in research.
• Accurate representation of the target population by extracted cohorts (cohort fitness) is critical but often overlooked.
• Lack of standardized methods hinders reliable assessment of cohort fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify existing guidelines for assessing cohort fitness from EHR data.
• To evaluate the thoroughness and methodological detail of these guidelines.
• To determine the need for comprehensive best-practice guidelines for measuring cohort fitness.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review following JBI guidance and PRISMA-ScR criteria.
• Systematic searches conducted in Medline, Embase, and Scopus databases.
• Screening of 1,904 initial results, with 32 articles undergoing full review.

Main Results:

• Nine (28.13%) reviewed articles provided a framework for evaluating cohort fitness.
• Only five (15.63%) of these frameworks offered sufficient detail and quantitative methodologies.
• A significant gap exists in comprehensive, actionable guidelines for cohort fitness assessment.

Conclusions:

• Current guidelines for assessing cohort fitness in EHR data are insufficient.
• Researchers require more detailed, computable methods for evaluating cohort representativeness.
• Development of a comprehensive guideline for best practices in measuring cohort fitness is needed.