Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18 years or older at the time of hospital admission. * Residents of Alberta eligible to receive acute-care services in AHS facilities. * Hospitalized for any cause during the study period (5 years pre-implementation and 2 years post-implementation of the CIS). * Meet the validated case definition for one or more of the five key NCDs (diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, coronary artery disease, heart failure, or chronic lung disease) based on ICD codes, laboratory measures, or pharmacy records during standardized lookback periods (up to 5 years for diagnoses; up to 1 year for labs/pharmacy). * Have a qualifying date for the NCD(s) that occurs prior to or during the index hospital admission. * Eligible for inclusion in the primary and patient experience outcomes if they survive to hospital discharge. * May enter multiple sub-cohorts if more than one NCD is present. Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals younger than 18 years at the time of hospital admission. * Non-residents of Alberta or individuals not eligible for care within AHS facilities. * Hospitalizations that end in death (excluded from analyses of the primary outcome and patient experience measures). * Patients without evidence of any of the five key NCDs during the lookback period or at the index hospital admission. * Admissions outside the study period or admissions for which necessary administrative, laboratory, or pharmacy data are unavailable.