Chronic diseases, including hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (diabetes), obesity, and hyperlipidemia, are some of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Monitoring disease prevalence guides public health programs and policies that help prevent this burden. EHRs can supplement traditional sources of chronic disease surveillance, such as health surveys and administrative claims datasets, by offering near real-time data, large sample sizes, and a rich source of clinical data. However, few studies have provided clear, consistent EHR phenotypes that were developed to inform population health surveillance.
Objective: To utilize clinical data in Electronic Health Records (EHRs) to develop chronic disease phenotypes appropriate for conducting population health surveillance.