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Mapping Facility NPI #s into the Care_Site table?

Implementers
#1

My source data contains the facility name and it’s NPI number. There is no NPI of the actual provider.

Please clarify - does the facility NPI # get stored as the care_site_source_value in the Care_Site table? Or, is the intent to use the NPI# as the key itself in the Care_Site table?

Thanks

#2

First question is always ‘do you have a use case for keeping the facility NPI number’. Let’s assume you do.
There is no rule about what to do with the a Care Site NPI number. If all of the ‘Care Sites’ in your source data have an NPI number and that NPI number is at the same level of specificity as the ‘Care Site’ (that is, the NPI is unique for all Care Site records) in your source data then using it as the PK makes sense. If the NPI does not meet these criteria then it also will not be a good care_site_source_value.

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#3

Thanks Don. You are correct, not every data source offers the facility NPI # . Yet we have a situation where we want to preserve it if offered. Where we do have it, it is a 1:1 mapping for the Care Sites.

So - PK should be a uniquely generated #, not the NPI in our case
Placing the NPI in the care_site_source_value won’t be consistent

Perhaps the answer is to concatenate the NPI into the care_site_name so it is ultimately retrievable if needed.

Thoughts on this?

#4

Why not just add a column to the Care_Site table for the NPI. The solution is unique to your CDM, but it will not interfere with any OHDSI tools.

#5

We’ve been trying not to modify the tables, but if this is semi-standard practice, it is an easy and convenient solution. Thanks.

#6

It is better to modify (make additions) to the tables then to use an existing columns in a ‘unique’ way. The rule is that adding a column to a table will not break any of the analytic tools. Whereas, changing the intended meaning of a column is likely to cause a problem. Appending the NPI to the care site source name would probably be fine, but If you decide that the facility NPI is necessary, then as you said, adding the column is the easiest and most convenient solution.

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t