Yale researchers now have enhanced access to the MarketScan Research Databases, providing extensive person-specific clinical data from 2014–2023. With nearly 10 billion records from large employers, health plans, and public organizations, MarketScan covers inpatient, outpatient, prescription drug, and carve-out services — all while maintaining strict privacy standards.
What Is MarketScan?
MarketScan is a comprehensive healthcare claims database that integrates data across a variety of services, ensuring patient confidentiality through robust anonymization techniques.
Why Use MarketScan?
MarketScan provides Yale researchers with access to large datasets that can be used to identify healthcare trends. These datasets include:
- 68 million to 118 million patients in the Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCAE) Database
- 3.9 million to 7.4 million patients in the Medicare (MDCR) Database
- 28 million patients in the Multi-State Medicaid (MDCD) Database
- Lab results for Commercial and Medicare databases
- 28 million patients in the Dental Database
These datasets contain demographic, clinical, financial, and provider variables, supporting advanced research and longitudinal studies.
Available Databases at Yale
- Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCAE): Includes data from employer-sponsored plans, including inpatient, outpatient, pharma claims, and lab results.
- Medicare (MDCR): Contains fee-for-service data for retirees with employer-sponsored Medicare plans.
- Medicaid (MDCD): Covers healthcare services for Medicaid enrollees across multiple states.
- Lab Results: Provides detailed test data for Commercial and Medicare databases.
- Dental: Offers insights into dental care linked to Commercial and Medicare data.
How to Access MarketScan
The Yale Biomedical Informatics and Computing (YBIC) office has licensed MarketScan for research use. Supported by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library and the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation, YBIC assists with data retrieval and analysis while ensuring compliance with data use agreements.
To access MarketScan, researchers must have a sponsoring Yale Principal Investigator (PI) and sign a data use agreement.
For further information, contact the YBIC team at datamed@yale.edu.