Home and Community Care

Date Range: January 1, 1990 onwards (calendar year)
Data Source: BC Ministry of Health Services
Note: the MoH's Access to Health Data for Research policy may be found here
This checklist is historical and provided only for reference. Please refer to https://my.popdata.bc.ca/dar/ for the current application and checklists.
Description
Information on transactions for individuals receiving services paid by the Continuing Care Division, BC Ministry of Health Services. Transactions relate to clients who are publicly-funded residents of long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, family care homes and group homes, clients in adult daycare programs, and clients receiving home care and home support services.
Population Data BC receives data from the Continuing Care Data Warehouse (CCDW) tables of the Ministry of Health Services. The CCDW system was implemented in 1990.
Inclusions
- Service transactions for clients who are publicly-funded residents of long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, family care homes and group homes, clients in adult daycare programs, and clients receiving home care and home support services.
Exclusions
- Health authorities provide some services that they do not report to the CCDW.
- Community-based agencies do not report to the Ministry on the support services they provide.
Data Changes Over Time
- Population Data BC now receives data from the Continuing Care Data Warehouse (CCDW) tables at the BC Ministry of Health Services. However, the current DAR/RA checklist (2003 July version) corresponds to the old format of Continuing Care data from the Continuing Care Information Management System (CCIMS). Until a revised checklist is in use, we map the original data file and field checklist against a new file and field checklist and provide researchers with the cross-walked data.
The current CCDW data differs from the former CCIMS data (available from 1985 to1989), and the continuity between the data is problematic to work with. Therefore, we generally only provide researchers with the CCDW data from 1990 forward.
Quality / Accuracy of Information/Field Coding Source
- Health Authorities are slowly changing their reporting mechanism from CCIMS to a new Minimum Reporting Requirement (MRR). In the process, data quality in the CCIMS system, which feeds the CCDW, appears to have suffered. Researchers interested in using these data will want to consult with Population Data BC staff about limitations and potential solutions. We expect data quality to improve again over time.
Important Additional Information
- The LTC Service Plan table (Care Advice for LTC on the DAR/RA) captures services provided to residents of a facility and home support services provided to community-based residents. The Direct Care table (Care Advice for Direct Care Service Record on the DAR/RA) captures home care services such as home nursing, home physiotherapy and home occupational therapy provided to community-based residents. The division between these two files is an historical artefact related to the development of publicly-funded services (Hollander and Pallan 1995).
- A Service Event is a period of service that a patient has with a service provider. Each service event begins with a ‘Start Date' or service change (‘Start Type Code'), and the event is either open or ended by a service change (‘Start Type Code') or an ‘End Date'.
- Project-specific client numbers are provided unless otherwise authorized. This allows the grouping of service records within a single care episode.
References
- McGrail KM, Broemeling AM,McGregor MJ, Salomons K, Ronald LA, McKendry R. Home Health Services in British Columbia: A Portrait of Users and Trends Over Time. Vancouver (BC): UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research; October 2008.
- Hollander, M. J. & Pallan, P. The British Columbia Continuing Care System: Service Delivery and Resource Planning. Aging (Milano.) 1995;7:94-109.
Fields Available
» Cont. Care - Client Master Record
» Cont. Care - Assessment Record
» Cont. Care - Care Advice for LTC Record
» Cont. Care - Care Advice for Direct Care Service Record
Cont. Care- Client Master Record: demographic and other information on the client.
Field Name |
Description |
Client Number** |
Unique number which identifies the client receiving services. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Birth Date** |
|
Death Date** |
|
Last Update Date |
Indicates the last date the client record was updated. |
Client Status |
Indicates the status of the client (used for referral clients only), e.g. active, inactive, etc. |
Sex |
|
Health Unit of Assessment** |
The health unit used as indicated on the latest assessment form. |
Assessment Date |
Effective date of latest assessment. |
Care Advice Date |
Effective date of latest LTC care advice. |
Health Unit of Care Advice** |
Health unit as coded on the latest care advice form processed. |
Care Facility ID |
Identifies facility where client is currently receiving care. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Indicator of Homemaker Care payment rate category |
|
Health Unit Responsible for Client** |
|
Review Date |
For LTC use only. Bring-forward date set and controlled by the health unit on which the client must be re-assessed or reviewed. |
Veterans' Allowance Flag |
Indicates if client qualifies for war veteran's allowance. |
Absence from Facility Flag |
Indicates if person is currently absent from facility care. |
Guaranteed Annual Income Flag |
Indicates if client is receiving Guaranteed Annual Income for Need (GAIN). |
Cont. Care - Assessment Record: the descriptions of assessments for service of client.
Field Name |
Description |
Date of Assessment |
The date the case manager assessed the client. |
Location of Assessment |
Location where the assessment was performed, e.g. client's home, facility, acute hospital, etc. |
Care Recommended by Assessor |
Possible values are: not eligible, homemaker, care in facility, home care program, mental health, and day care. |
Care Approved by Administrator |
Same as above. This field is now redundant, as the assessor has the authority to approve the recommend the care type. |
Assessment Type |
Possible values are: new assessment (first time assessed by CCD, to be used once ever), review -- no change in assessed care level, re-assessment -- change in assessed care level, appeal -- client or provider appeal a previous assessment, correction to a previous assessment, and undefined. |
Approved Level of Care |
Approved level of care for a client. Possible values are: mental health resources, personal care, intermediate care 1, intermediate care 2, intermediate care 3, extended care, undefined or not applicable. |
Recommended Level of Care |
|
Assessor Number** |
Specifies the case manager who performed the assessment. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Health Unit of Assessment** |
Health unit for which the assessment was performed. |
Cont - Care Advice for LTC Record: The advice as to what care -- facility or homemaker services -- is approved for the client.
Field Name |
Description |
Effective Date |
Date and sequence number that LTC care advice is to become effective. |
Transaction Number |
This field is no longer available. |
Removal Date |
The date the care or fee advice became inactive because of a correction or a deletion. |
Financial Activation Date |
The date the care advice became financially active. NOTE: This is a redundant field, as this will be the same as the 'Effective Date'. |
Maximum time Authorized |
The maximum hours or days of service for which provider can bill - applies to non-facility care only. |
Assessor Number** |
ID of assessor who completed care advice form. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Health Unit Number** |
Number identifying the health unit from which this care advice originates. |
Type of Care Advice |
Possible values are: start service, change of service, end service, correction to a start service, correction to a change of service, correction to an end service, deletion of a start service, deletion of a change of service, and deletion of an end service. |
Status of Care Advice |
Status of the care or fee advice. Verified and unverified are active, corrected and deleted are inactive. Used to determine what is to be paid for and which care advices need verification. |
Paid Flag |
Indicates whether the care is to be paid or unpaid. |
Client Contribution Rate |
Contribution paid by client per day for care received (only applies to non-facility care). |
Reference Transaction Number |
This field is no longer available. |
Level of Care |
The reason for a start, change or end of service (according to 'type of care advice'). This is not consistently recorded for people in extended care units prior to 1987, and is not recorded at all after that date. |
Reason Code |
The reason for a start, change or end of service (according to 'type of care advice'). This is not consistently recorded for people in extended care units prior to 1987, and is not recorded at all after that date. |
Provider Category |
Indicates which provider category this service event applies to. |
Provider Health Unit |
Health unit number in which provider provides services. |
Provider Class |
Indicates the type of payment the provider receives. Possible values includes: per diem claims, hourly claims, per diem facility payments, no payment. |
Provider Number |
Unique number, internal to Continuing Care Division. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Cont. Care - Care Advice for Direct Care Service Record: the advice as to what care -- home nursing, home PT, home OT, QRT, adult day care -- is approved for the client.
Field Name |
Description |
Transaction Number |
This field is no longer available. |
Financial Activation Date |
Date the care advice became financially active. |
Referring Physician Number |
Unique number identifying referring physician. [Replaced by a project-specific identification number.] |
Maximum time Authorized |
NOT USED BY DIRECT CARE. |
Hospital of Referral |
ID of hospital where patient was previously receiving care. |
Ward of Referral |
ID of the hospital ward where the patient was previously receiving care. |
Care Group Type |
Code classifying the type of care the client is receiving. |
Referral Source |
Used by OT, PT and QRT only. Possible values include: undefined, LTC, HNC, preventive, direct, CC nursing or PT.OT program, physician, and emergency-hospital. |
Type of Care Advice |
Indicates whether it is the start or end of a care episode. |
Status of Care Advice |
Values will always indicate 'verified'. Not useful for research purposes. |
Paid Flag |
Values will always indicate 'unpaid'. Not useful for research purposes. |
Effective Date of Care Advice |
|
Level of Care |
Possible values include: HNC, PT, OT, and QRT (use organization code to distinguish between OT and QRT). |
Expected Length of Time in Program |
Code indicating the expected length of time the patient will be in the program. Except for QRT, possible values are: =<2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, 5-14 weeks, 3-6 months, and 6+ mths. For QRT, possible values are: 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, 4 days, and 5+days. |
Reason Code |
Reason for patient's discharge. |
PT or HNC Visits |
Total of either PT or home nursing care visits for this care episode. Entered on discharge, or every 6 mos for long term patients. |
OT or PHN visits |
Total of either OT or public health nurse visits for this care episode. Entered on discharge, or every 6 mos for long term patients. |
Primary Diagnosis |
ICD-9 codes. Not used since approximately 1991. |
Secondary diagnosis |
ICD-9 codes. Not used since approximately 1991. |
Operation/Surgery Code |
Procedure codes. Not used since approximately 1991. |
Projected Treatment Type |
Type of care to be provided. For all except QRT, possible values include: full rehabilitation, partial rehabilitation, maintenance, palliative care, and undefined. For QRT, possible values include: crisis intervention, respite care giver, early hospital discharge, and emergency care diversion. |
Client Outcome at Discharge |
Indicates patient outcome at discharge. |
Last Visit Update Date |
Date on which the visit totals were last entered. |
** Data field which could potentially identify an individual, and which therefore is only released only to researchers having a clear need for the data in order to accomplish their research project.