OBJECTIVES: Utilization of open claims data has been excluded from research study consideration; however, recent data stitching methodologies can layer open and closed claims data together – creating completeness and accuracy among patient journey analyses. This study aims to describe open claims data insights and characteristics of patients in comparison to a closed population.

METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing open and closed claims from Komodo Healthcare Map from January 1, 2016 to May 31, 2021 (study period). Patients were ≥18 years of age with a Multiple Sclerosis (MS) treatment (index date) between January 1, 2019 and May 31, 2021 and had >1 claim for a MS diagnosis. Patient characteristics and claims distributions were assessed during the 365 days on or before the index date; no outcomes were assessed in the post-index period.

RESULTS: Five treatment cohorts were included with the following patient counts: oral cladribine (closed: 968; open: 1,781), dimethyl fumarate (closed: 15,167; open: 34,839), ocrelizumab (closed: 18,021; open: 47,428), glatiramer acetate (closed: 16,047; open: 36,620), and ozanimod (closed: 284; open: 433). Open vs. closed cohorts were mutually exclusive; treatment cohorts were not. Open patient counts for each treatment cohort were substantially larger than the closed patients counts. Open patients were further separated into high vs low claims volume subgroups based on median claims volume for each treatment cohort. Baseline characteristics, claims volume distribution, and healthcare resource utilization among the open-high patient cohort were comparable to those of the closed patient cohort.

CONCLUSIONS: Baseline characteristics and utilization patterns of patients with high-volume of open claims were similar to those with closed claims. We plan to conduct additional analyses to further define high-fidelity patient populations with open claims data that can be leveraged for robust observational studies.