Other, please specify

Type of Study

Research database

Data gathering method

Reimbursement data

Conditions of access

Access subject to request and prior approval

Anonymised microdata

The data is only available in German.

Database was assembled with data for years 2006-2007. It includes all individuals who received services in 2006/07 and all those covered by social insurance (approximately 98% of the population).

2006-2007

Stratification possible for age, gender and district; Available data and findings are not published with a regional disaggregation (although in theory that is possible)

Registry

Each of Austria's 9 regions

All ages

For those in old-age institutions and nursing homes, data is inconsistent.

Data collected on demand for health care services, i.e. episodes of care (outpatient and inpatient) and sickness leaves. The database does not cover ambulatory care in hospitals. The following conditions are covered: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, cancer, coronary health disease, and mental health. Socio-economic variables includeage, gender and district. Corresponds to Health and Performance Topic

• Endel, F., Endel, G., & Pfeffer, N. “Routine Data in HTA: Record Linkage in Austria’s GAP-DRG Database' in Value in Health. 15 (7) (2012): A466. • Pfeffer, N., Weisser, A., Endel, G., Scholler, C., Eisl, A., & Filzmoser, P. “Diagnoses-related procedure bundles in outpatient care – results from a research project using secondary data'. In BMC Health Serv Res. 11 (Suppl 1) (2012): A3. Available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/.../1472-6963-11-S1-A3.pdf
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NA

It is possible to link the database to other national databases through a Unique Person Identifier (UPI).

Database is composed of several regional and occupational sickness funds. Hospital data was added and linked through a complex algorithm. About 99% of observations in all databases were matched. Data also includes seasonal workers and tourists who used health care services, but the inclusion of these observations does not impact quality of data, given the total number of observations (approximately 98% of population).

Strengths: The database provides coverage of the entire population, makes it possible to link the data through the Unique Person Identifier, and provides reliable data on the usage of actual health care services. Weaknesses: It is possible to identify episodes of health care use, but not the pathways of care (date of episode is not exactly recorded). There is a lack of data on diagnosis and limited socio-economic variables and coverage of outpatient care (ambulatory care in hospital settings is not covered). The database is not user-friendly as data management experise is needed in order to use the complex dataset.