Data Sources
We assembled a cohort of inpatients or outpatients using the Med-Echo administrative databases (hospital discharge reports), medical services of the Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), and RAMQ public drug plans, all databases administered by the RAMQ.25-28 The databases were linked via encrypted health insurance numbers. Information from these databases provided a complete picture of hospital admissions, medical services and medication used, if the patient still living in the Quebec province.