Data and Statistics

Scope Start date Guide for use Contact information Collection methods - guide for providers Frequency of updates Security of data Privacy issues National reports and publications Data provision Back to National data collections Scope Purpose The Pharmaceutical Collection is a data warehouse that supports the management of pharmaceutical subsidies. It is jointly owned by the Ministry of Health and Pharmac. Content The Pharmceutical Collection contains claim and payment information from pharmacists for subsidised dispensings that have been processed by the HealthPAC General Transaction Processing System (GTPS). As at October 2002, the Pharmceutical Collection holds over 270 million claims. Approximately 3.5 million rows of data are added each month. Back to top Start date The collection was started in 1 July 1992. Records from before 1996 have been archived, but can be made available on request. Back to top Guide for use The Pharmceutical Collection has undergone two major changes since 1992: repeat prescriptions were introduced in 1996, and the major drug key changed from Medicode (allocated by HealthPAC) to Pharmacode (pharmacy stock code) in 1998. Other small structural changes are made to the Pharmceutical Collection each year. For more information, refer to the Pharmhouse Data Dictionary All money values are assumed to be inclusive of GST, unless otherwise stated. Identification of co-prescribing, which is the analysis of drugs being prescribed and taken together, has been a problem with historical data. Back to top Contact information For further information about this collection or to request specific datasets or reports email data-enquiries@moh.govt.nz. Back to top Collection methods - guide for providers The main source of the data is HealthPAC’s GTPS. Additional data is provided by: Statistics NZ (Geographical and Census data; claimant data is geocoded by the Sector Services geocoding engine) HealthPAC (provider reference data) Pharmac (the Pharmac Schedule and mappings). Back to top Frequency of updates Sector Services receives monthly extracts from HealthPAC and Pharmac. Back to top Security of data The Pharmceutical Collection is accessed by authorised Sector Services and Pharmac staff for maintenance, data quality, audit and analytical purposes. Authorised members of the Ministry of Health and DHBs have access to the Pharmceutical Collection for analytical purposes, via Business Objects and the secure Health Information Network. Business Objects contains a subset of the data described in the Data Dictionary. Access to the Pharmceutical Collection requires approval from Pharmac. Back to top Privacy issues The Ministry of Health is required to ensure that the release of information recognises any legislation related to the privacy of health information, in particular the Official Information Act 1982, the Privacy Act 1993 and the Health Information Privacy Code 1994. Information available to the general public is of a statistical and non-identifiable nature. Researchers requiring identifiable data will usually need approval from an Ethics Committee. Sector Services is responsible for the privacy of NHI-related information. NHI numbers have only been provided since April 2002, and only approximately one-third of dispensings have a valid NHI number. Pharmac is responsible for the security of information relating to the practice of prescribing drugs. Back to top National reports and publications Pharmac releases monthly reports to the DHBs and Shared Support Agencies in MS Excel format. Back to top Data provision If approval is provided by Pharmac, customised datasets or summary reports are available on request, either electronically or on paper. Staff from the Sector Services Analytical Services team can help to define the specifications for a request and are familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the data. The Sector Services Analytical Services team also offer a peer review service to ensure that Sector Services data is reported appropriately when published by other organisations. There may be charges associated with data extracts. Back to top Website feedback We welcome your feedback on this webpage. Page last updated: 23 December 2009