Characteristics of the Long-Term Care Data Cooperative: A New Resource for Research on Outcomes in Long-Term Care

The long-term care (LTC) Data Cooperative is a National Institute on Aging-funded data resource that links skilled nursing facility (SNF) electronic health record (EHR) data with Medicare and Medicaid claims for use in comparative effectiveness and interventional research. Here we characterize the population of residents and SNFs represented in the LTC Data Cooperative and report on the completeness of key data elements.

We compared facility and resident characteristics between SNF participants in the LTC Data Cooperative in 2023 and all US SNFs. We examined frequencies and variation in documentation of key EHR data elements including resident census data, vital signs, blood glucose readings, medication administration records, and immunizations.

The LTC Data Cooperative included 2557 SNFs in 48 states plus D.C. in 2023, or 17% of US SNFs. The LTC Data Cooperative population was generally similar to the national population with small differences including being slightly older (21.3% under age 65 vs. 23.8% in the national population); having fewer females (61.0% vs. 63.2%), fewer Black residents (15.1% vs. 17.5%); and fewer residents with dementia (45.5% vs. 47.2%). Data availability varied across SNFs, however most had relatively consistent documentation of key elements. The number of SNFs with vital sign records available on at least 80% of days ranged from 2248 SNFs for temperature documentation to 2303 SNFs for blood pressure documentation. Approximately 2300 SNFs (90%) had at least some medication administration records available, while 2485 SNFs (97%) had immunization records.

The LTC Data Cooperative offers novel EHR data capturing clinical measures not available in the Minimum Data Set or claims data on a SNF resident population that is comparable to the national population. Studies using these data can generate evidence to inform and improve clinical care and outcomes for older adults in the SNF setting.