Postal Code field: Difference between revisions

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Line 4:

| CCMDB_tab = Dispo

| element_description = The patient's postal code.

| in_table = L_Log

| in_table = L_Log table

| data_type = string

| datafield_length = 6

| program_collecting = Med and CC

| created_raw = Raw

| data_element_start_date = ~~2016~~-07-01

| data_element_start_date = 2012-01-01

| data_element_sort_index = 33

}}

The [[Postal_Code field]] can be edited in the Dispo ~~tab~~. A postal code is collected for all patients admitted to a hospital within the WRHA. The postal code collected is from the address that a person '''permanently resides''' in any [[Province]] in Canada.

The [[Postal_Code field]] can be edited in the [[Patient Viewer Tab Dispo]]. A postal code is collected for all patients admitted to a hospital within the WRHA. The postal code collected is from the address that a person '''permanently resides''' in any [[Province]] in Canada.

== Collection Instruction ==

Line 19:

* no space

* upper case letters

* example only: ~~X0X0X0~~

* example only: R0A0A0

~~When~~ the postal code is '~~''not''' available (e~~.g. ~~John~~/~~Jane Doe~~ or ~~chart doesn~~'~~t have postal~~ code~~) enter~~ "N/A" or ~~click~~ the "N/A" ~~button~~ to ~~enter it~~ for ~~you~~.

=== Don't trust Postal Codes from Cognos ===

Don't trust the postal codes that come from [[Cognos2]], we know that the codes in the data dump can be wrong anc change from day to day, and have been unable get a fix from [[Decision Support Services]]. Confirm Postal Codes in EPR and enter the code from EPR if different from Cognos.

=== "N/A" ===

Use this in the following scenarios where pts don't have Canadian style postal codes. You can click the "N/A" button to enter it for you to ensure standard spelling.

* for data use considerations see [[#N/A]]

==== "N/A" - [[homeless]]====

{{Collapsable | always = Code "N/A" for [[homeless]]patients. | full =

* this includes:

** [[homeless]]person admitted who lists their address as Siloam Mission or the Salvation Army/Booth's Place, code as "N/A"

** Couch surfers, code as "N/A"

}}

For [[#Data Use]], this should often be grouped with "Winnipeg": most [[homeless]] are geographically located in Winnipeg, and the socioeconomic concept is already separately tracked in the [[Pre acute living situation field]].

* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-homeless]]

==== "N/A" - [[John or Jane Doe patient]] ====

* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-JDoe]]

==== "N/A" - out-of-country resident ====

* our [[cross check]]s would flag the format of out-of-country postal codes, so enter "N/A" for these.

{{DT | do we have a page for that to also include instructions about province etc. like we have for [[homeless]]... }}

* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-notCanada]]

==== "N/A" - in-country resident ====

* there are cases where not [[homeless]] and province is in Canada (e.g. MB and non-MB) with N/A postal code entry

* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-Canada]]

=== Special Cases ===

==== ~~Homeless with proxy address~~ ====

==== Institutionalized patients ====

~~If you have a homeless person admitted who lists their address as Siloam Mission or~~ the ~~Salvation Army/Booth~~'s ~~Place, use their~~ postal code ~~as provided~~.

For institutionalized patients (e.g. [[Prison / Jail / Correctional Institution]] inmates, care homes), use the institution's postal code.

~~Code "couch surfers"~~ as "N/A".

==== International Students ====

{{DT | do we have a page for that to also include instructions about province etc. like we have for [[homeless]]... }}

If they have an address in the [[Province]], enter it, otherwise treat them as [[#"N/A" - out-of-country resident]].

~~==== Institutionalized patients ====~~

{{Discuss |

~~For institutionalized patients (e~~.g. ~~prison inmates~~, ~~care homes)~~, ~~use the institution's postal code~~.

I understand the sentiment in the following, but this should either be rules or not mentioned at all, or it will cause confusion, since it would be relevant specifically in the edge cases when it would fall apart. So it might be better to address the specific edge cases and make a rule and cross check where relevant.

Where this bears on data use, we should make sure we define once what we will check for and how we adjudicate or interpret inconsistencies, like we did for [[homeless]] patients. [[User:Ttenbergen|Ttenbergen]] 16:10, 11 July 2025 (CDT)

~~==== Out-of-Country patients ====~~

~~Our cross checks would flag the format of out-of-country postal codes, so enter "N/A" for these.~~

=== Relationship between [[Province]], PHIN and Postal code ===

When collecting Postal Code, [[PHIN]] number and [[Province]], think about the relationship of this information when you are collecting it.

*if patient has a MB PHIN number, then [[Province]] code should be MB and the postal code should be for MB (MB postal codes start with an "R").

*if [[Province]] code is '''not''' MB then the postal code should not be a MB postal code and also, there should not be an PHIN number.

*if [[Province]] code is '''not''' MB then the postal code should not be a MB postal code. Enter "not applicable" or the out of province postal code if available, and also, there should not be a PHIN number.

}}

== Data Use ==

~~The most common use~~ for ~~postal codes is for researchers to link~~ to Stats Canada for ~~economic status and to~~ for ~~us to get a distribution~~ of patients by MB ~~RHAs outside of~~ Winnipeg. ~~It’s also~~ a ~~cross~~-~~check on~~ [[~~Province~~]] ~~for out~~-of-~~province~~ patients. - ~~Randy Martens~~ - ~~Sept 11~~.15.

Postal Codes are used group patients geographically for purposes such as:

Data is used ~~for socioeconomic stratification~~ of ~~population by geographic area~~.

* distribution of patients by [[Manitoba RHAs]]s outside of Winnipeg

* linking to Stats Canada for socioeconomic stratification of population by geographic area

* [[Data Integrity Checks]] for the [[Province field]] for out-of-province patients via [[Postal Code Master table]]

* [[#Grouping by Geographical Area]]

=== Grouping by Geographical Area ===

Using the first three digits of the code, as done for [[Data definition for factor candidates for the Overstay2 project]]

==== MB ====

First Digit in ('R')

===== MB-Winnipeg =====

First two digits in ('R2', 'R3')

===== MB-Northern =====

First three digits in ('R0B','R8A','R8N','R9A')

===== MB-Rest =====

MB and not (MB-Wininpeg or MB-Northern)

==== ON-NorthWestern ====

*First three digits in ('P0X', 'P0Y', 'P0W', 'P9N', 'P8T', 'P8N', 'P9A')

** P0X (Kenora Region)

** P0Y (Whiteshell Park Region)

** P0W (Rainy River Region)

** Urban P9N (Kenora)

** Urban P8T (Sioux Lookout)

** Urban P8N (Dryden)

** Urban P9A (Fort Frances)

==== N/A ====

Anyone with a

==== N/A-[[homeless]] ====

* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - homeless]]

* this should often be grouped with [[#MB-Winnipeg]]: most [[homeless]] are geographically located in Winnipeg, and the socioeconomic concept is already separately tracked in the [[Pre acute living situation field]].

===== Data integrity for [[homeless]] patients =====

{{Discuss |

* CCMDB have [[pre_acute_living_situation field]] [[homeless]] with Postal Code, should the Postal code be ignored and replaced by N/A. Should the R_Province entry be affected by Postal Code N/A? --[[User:JMojica|JMojica]] 10:54, 24 June 2025 (CDT)

** We are currently reviewing some of the definitions of [[homeless]]ness. It is possible that details will change as outcome from that. The concept has been broadened to include some ambiguous states and terminology changed to houselessness. Next meeting later this week about that.

** I don't expect that it would change instructions of how to code Postal Code; so, it makes sense to me to update vetted data for postal code to "N/A" if the [[Pre acute living situation]] is "[[homeless]]".

** Also, we have discussed whether it would be better to do this as an actual change in data, or as an logical change by function or encoded data in the [[Data Meaning Layer]]. Julie, you already do some other things in that layer to re-write data, if I interpret your SAS code correctly. [[User:Ttenbergen|Ttenbergen]] 17:11, 18 July 2025 (CDT)

}}

{{Discuss|

* once this settles we should

** ensure we have [[Data Integrity Checks]] to flag entries like that (related: [[Community and Long Term Care Master List]])

** [[Data definition for factor candidates for the Overstay2 project#???]] is updated accordingly

}}

==== N/A-JDoe ====

* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - John or Jane Doe patient]] / [[John or Jane Doe patient]]

* this should often be grouped with [[#MB-Winnipeg]]: this group is tiny and the situation often arises in Winnipeg

* this situation often resolves later in an admission, so this may well be different in initial data than in vetted data

{{DT |

* this is related to [[Minimal Data Set]] and when it's used... do we document this as a concept?

}}

==== N/A-Canada ====

* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - in-country resident]]

* if province is MB, this should be grouped with [[#MB-Rest]] .

* if province is not MB, this should be grouped with [[#Non_MB-Rest]] .

==== N/A-notCanada ====

* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - out-of-country resident]]

* this should almost always be grouped with [[#Non-MB-Rest]] since that is what it is.

== ~~{{CCMDB Data Integrity Checks}}~~ ==

==== Non-MB-Rest====

~~Implemented:~~

* Any code not in the other categories above

* ~~will reject empty field~~

* In use, this should often be grouped with [[#N/A-notCanada]]

* ~~will reject invalid postal code~~

==~~[[CFE]]-[[Postal code cross check]]~~==

=== SAS Program ===

~~Main office weekly data check. data vetting process.~~

The SAS macro code is in S:\MED\MED_CCMED\Julie\SAS_CFE\CFE_macros\PostalCode_AreaGroup.sas

~~Uses query ''NDC_Bad_Postal_Code'' and table ''Postal_Code_Master''~~.

=== table ~~''Postal_Code_Master''~~ ===

=== [[Postal Code Master table]] ===

~~This is the table that postal codes get checked again. It includes~~ the [[~~MB RHA~~]] ~~that a postal code is affiliated with~~.

We cross-check this data against the [[Postal Code Master table]] and use it to group by RHA.

~~For the MB component we imported a version provided by [[Marc Silva]] to [[Julie Mojica]] 2016-09-08.~~

~~The country-wide component was based on an older table I think we go it from Stats Can.~~

== Start/end Dates ==

Line 62:

Line 154:

==Wikipedia Postal codes listings across Canada==

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_codes_in_Canada Wikipedia, Postal codes in Canada]

*at the top of the article shows the the first letter that a postal code starts with for a province.

~~[http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/maps/FSA/CA01.pdf Map showing first letter used in postal codes across Canada]~~

== Related Articles ==

== Legacy ==

Data started out being collected in the tmp field.

Data started out being collected in the tmp field until June 1, 2016.

The Postal Code from tmp populated the PostalCode field of Centralized_data on Jun 22, 2016.

~~[[Category:~~ 2016 ~~Time and Place changes]]~~

~~[[Category: Data Collection Guide]]~~

~~[[Category: Postal Codes|*]]~~

[[Category: Registry Data]]

[[Category:2016 Time and Place changes]]

[[Category:Data Collection Guide]]

[[Category:Postal Codes| *]]

[[Category:Registry Data]]

[[Category:Demographics]]

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 | CCMDB_tab = Dispo
 | element_description = The patient's postal code.
-| in_table = L_Log
+| in_table = L_Log table
 | data_type = string
 | datafield_length = 6
 | program_collecting = Med and CC
 | created_raw = Raw
-| data_element_start_date = 2016-07-01
+| data_element_start_date = 2012-01-01
 | data_element_sort_index = 33
 }}
-The [[Postal_Code field]] can be edited in the Dispo tab. A postal code is collected for all patients admitted to a hospital within the WRHA.  The postal code collected is from the address that a person '''permanently resides''' in any [[Province]] in Canada.
+The [[Postal_Code field]] can be edited in the [[Patient Viewer Tab Dispo]]. A postal code is collected for all patients admitted to a hospital within the WRHA.  The postal code collected is from the address that a person '''permanently resides''' in any [[Province]] in Canada.
 == Collection Instruction ==
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 * no space
 * upper case letters
-* example only: X0X0X0
+* example only: R0A0A0
-When the postal code is '''not''' available (e.g. John/Jane Doe or chart doesn't have postal code) enter "N/A" or click the "N/A" button to enter it for you.
+=== Don't trust Postal Codes from Cognos ===
+Don't trust the postal codes that come from [[Cognos2]], we know that the codes in the data dump can be wrong anc change from day to day, and have been unable get a fix from [[Decision Support Services]]. Confirm Postal Codes in EPR and enter the code from EPR if different from Cognos.
+=== "N/A" ===
+Use this in the following scenarios where pts don't have Canadian style postal codes. You can click the "N/A" button to enter it for you to ensure standard spelling.
+* for data use considerations see [[#N/A]]
+==== "N/A" - [[homeless]]====
+{{Collapsable | always = Code "N/A" for [[homeless]]patients. | full =
+* this includes:
+**  [[homeless]]person admitted who lists their address as Siloam Mission or the Salvation Army/Booth's Place, code  as "N/A"
+** Couch surfers, code as "N/A"
+}}
+For [[#Data Use]], this should often be grouped with "Winnipeg": most [[homeless]] are geographically located in Winnipeg, and the socioeconomic concept is already separately tracked in the [[Pre acute living situation field]].
+* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-homeless]]
+==== "N/A" - [[John or Jane Doe patient]] ====
+* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-JDoe]]
+==== "N/A" - out-of-country resident ====
+* our [[cross check]]s would flag the format of out-of-country postal codes, so enter "N/A" for these.
+{{DT | do we have a page for that to also include instructions about province etc. like we have for [[homeless]]... }}
+* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-notCanada]]
+==== "N/A" - in-country resident ====
+* there are cases where not [[homeless]] and  province is in Canada (e.g. MB and non-MB) with N/A postal code entry
+* for data use considerations see [[#N/A-Canada]]
 === Special Cases ===
-==== Homeless with proxy address ====
+==== Institutionalized patients ====
-If you have a homeless person admitted who lists their address as Siloam Mission or the Salvation Army/Booth's Place, use their postal code as provided.
+For institutionalized patients (e.g. [[Prison / Jail / Correctional Institution]] inmates, care homes), use the institution's postal code.
-Code "couch surfers" as "N/A".
+==== International Students ====
+{{DT | do we have a page for that to also include instructions about province etc. like we have for [[homeless]]... }}
+If they have an address in the [[Province]], enter it, otherwise treat them as [[#"N/A" - out-of-country resident]].
-==== Institutionalized patients ====
+{{Discuss |
-For institutionalized patients (e.g. prison inmates, care homes), use the institution's postal code.
+I understand the sentiment in the following, but this should either be rules or not mentioned at all, or it will cause confusion, since it would be relevant specifically in the edge cases when it would fall apart. So it might be better to address the specific edge cases and make a rule and cross check where relevant.
+Where this bears on data use, we should make sure we define once what we will check for and how we adjudicate or interpret inconsistencies, like we did for [[homeless]] patients. [[User:Ttenbergen|Ttenbergen]] 16:10, 11 July 2025 (CDT)
-==== Out-of-Country patients ====
-Our cross checks would flag the format of out-of-country postal codes, so enter "N/A" for these.
 === Relationship between [[Province]], PHIN and Postal code ===
 When collecting Postal Code, [[PHIN]] number and [[Province]], think about the relationship of this information when you are collecting it.
 *if patient has a MB PHIN number, then [[Province]] code should be MB and the postal code should be for MB (MB postal codes start with an "R").
-*if [[Province]] code is '''not''' MB then the postal code should not be a MB postal code and also, there should not be an PHIN number.
+*if [[Province]] code is '''not''' MB then the postal code should not be a MB postal code. Enter "not applicable" or the out of province postal code if available, and also, there should not be a PHIN number.
+}}
 == Data Use ==
-The most common use for postal codes is for researchers to link to Stats Canada for economic status and to for us to get a distribution of patients by MB RHAs outside of Winnipeg.  It’s also a cross-check on [[Province]] for out-of-province patients. - Randy Martens - Sept 11.15.
+Postal Codes are used group patients geographically for purposes such as:
-Data is used for socioeconomic stratification of population by geographic area.
+* distribution of patients by [[Manitoba RHAs]]s outside of Winnipeg
+* linking to Stats Canada for socioeconomic stratification of population by geographic area
+* [[Data Integrity Checks]] for the [[Province field]] for out-of-province patients via [[Postal Code Master table]]
+* [[#Grouping by Geographical Area]]
+=== Grouping by Geographical Area ===
+Using the first three digits of the code, as done for [[Data definition for factor candidates for the Overstay2 project]]
+==== MB ====
+First Digit in ('R')
+===== MB-Winnipeg  =====
+First two digits in ('R2', 'R3')
+===== MB-Northern =====
+First three digits in ('R0B','R8A','R8N','R9A')
+===== MB-Rest =====
+MB and not (MB-Wininpeg or MB-Northern)
+==== ON-NorthWestern ====
+*First three digits in ('P0X', 'P0Y', 'P0W', 'P9N', 'P8T', 'P8N', 'P9A')
+** P0X (Kenora Region)
+** P0Y (Whiteshell Park Region)
+** P0W (Rainy River Region)
+** Urban P9N (Kenora)
+** Urban P8T (Sioux Lookout)
+** Urban P8N (Dryden)
+** Urban P9A (Fort Frances)
+==== N/A ====
+Anyone with a
+==== N/A-[[homeless]] ====
+* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - homeless]]
+* this should often be grouped with [[#MB-Winnipeg]]: most [[homeless]] are geographically located in Winnipeg, and the socioeconomic concept is already separately tracked in the [[Pre acute living situation field]].
+===== Data integrity for [[homeless]] patients =====
+{{Discuss |
+* CCMDB have [[pre_acute_living_situation field]] [[homeless]] with Postal Code, should the Postal code be ignored and replaced by N/A.  Should  the R_Province entry be affected by Postal Code N/A? --[[User:JMojica|JMojica]] 10:54, 24 June 2025 (CDT)
+** We are currently reviewing some of the definitions of [[homeless]]ness. It is possible that details will change as outcome from that. The concept has been broadened to include some ambiguous states and terminology changed to houselessness. Next meeting later this week about that.
+** I don't expect that it would change instructions of how to code Postal Code; so, it makes sense to me to update vetted data for postal code to "N/A" if the [[Pre acute living situation]] is "[[homeless]]".
+** Also, we have discussed whether it would be better to do this as an actual change in data, or as an logical change by function or encoded data in the [[Data Meaning Layer]]. Julie, you already do some other things in that layer to re-write data, if I interpret your SAS code correctly. [[User:Ttenbergen|Ttenbergen]] 17:11, 18 July 2025 (CDT)
+ }}
+{{Discuss|
+* once this settles we should
+** ensure we have [[Data Integrity Checks]] to flag entries like that (related: [[Community and Long Term Care Master List]])
+** [[Data definition for factor candidates for the Overstay2 project#???]] is updated accordingly
+}}
+==== N/A-JDoe ====
+* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - John or Jane Doe patient]] / [[John or Jane Doe patient]]
+* this should often be grouped with [[#MB-Winnipeg]]: this group is tiny and the situation often arises in Winnipeg
+* this situation often resolves later in an admission, so this may well be different in initial data than in vetted data
+{{DT |
+* this is related to [[Minimal Data Set]] and when it's used... do we document this as a concept?
+}}
+==== N/A-Canada ====
+* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - in-country resident]]
+* if province is MB, this should be grouped with [[#MB-Rest]] .
+* if province is not MB, this should  be grouped with [[#Non_MB-Rest]] .
+==== N/A-notCanada ====
+* patients collected as [[#"N/A" - out-of-country resident]]
+* this should almost always be grouped with [[#Non-MB-Rest]] since that is what it is.
-== {{CCMDB Data Integrity Checks}} ==
+==== Non-MB-Rest====
-Implemented:
+* Any code not in the other categories above
-* will reject empty field
+* In use, this should often be grouped with [[#N/A-notCanada]]
-* will reject invalid postal code
-==[[CFE]]-[[Postal code cross check]]==
+=== SAS Program ===
-Main office weekly data check.  data vetting process.
+The SAS macro code is in S:\MED\MED_CCMED\Julie\SAS_CFE\CFE_macros\PostalCode_AreaGroup.sas
-Uses query ''NDC_Bad_Postal_Code'' and table ''Postal_Code_Master''.
-=== table ''Postal_Code_Master'' ===
+=== [[Postal Code Master table]] ===
-This is the table that postal codes get checked again. It includes the [[MB RHA]] that a postal code is affiliated with.
+We cross-check this data against the [[Postal Code Master table]] and use it to group by RHA.
-For the MB component we imported a version provided by [[Marc Silva]] to [[Julie Mojica]] 2016-09-08.
-The country-wide component was based on an older table I think we go it from Stats Can.
+{{Data Integrity Check List}}
 == Start/end Dates ==
@@ Line 62: / Line 154: @@
 ==Wikipedia Postal codes listings across Canada==
 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_postal_codes_in_Canada Wikipedia, Postal codes in Canada]
-*at the top of the article shows the the first letter that a postal code starts with for a province.
-[http://www.canadapost.ca/cpc2/addrm/hh/maps/FSA/CA01.pdf Map showing first letter used in postal codes across Canada]
+== Related Articles ==
+{{Related Articles}}
 == Legacy ==
-Data started out being collected in the tmp field.
+Data started out being collected in the tmp field until June 1, 2016.
+The Postal Code from tmp populated the PostalCode field of Centralized_data on Jun 22, 2016.
-[[Category: 2016 Time and Place changes]]
-[[Category: Data Collection Guide]]
-[[Category: Postal Codes|*]]
-[[Category: Registry Data]]
+[[Category:2016 Time and Place changes]]
+[[Category:Data Collection Guide]]
+[[Category:Postal Codes| *]]
+[[Category:Registry Data]]
+[[Category:Demographics]]