Health services research in critical care using administrative data

The aim of health services research is to provide unbiased, scientific evidence to influence health services policy at all levels. Secondary analysis of administrative data can be employed for the purpose of evaluating questions relevant to health services research in the field of critical care. This article provides an overview of the topic and specifically reviews the key components to evaluating and performing research in critical care using administrative data, including how to evaluate the quality of administrative data itself, and also how to evaluate the quality of studies that employ administrative data. The article concludes with a step-wise approach to conducting studies of critical care based on administrative data.