Observational intensity bias occurs when a small number of patients with a large number of problems skews the data in a database.
A patient who is ill has more healthcare visits and diagnostic codes recorded. A relatively small number of patients can generate a large amount of data.
If the data is analyzed without being adjusted (for number of visits, disease intensity, etc):
(1) The prevalence of certain diseases may appear higher than it is.
(2) The population may appear to be sicker than it actually is.
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