Digital Rectal Exam
Described in this document are the Stanford University algorithms for extracting both cases and controls of digital rectal examination (DRE) from electronic health records (EHR) of prostate cancer patients. DRE is a clinical procedure, part of a set of quality metrics used to determine quality care for these patients. In this regard, DRE is defined as quality care when it is performed within a time period of up to six months before first treatment for prostate cancer. For the purposes of this algorithm a case is defined as DRE documented, whereas a control is DRE not documented.