Nationwide medical registration

Summary

Strengths: The data source provides long time series and high coverage (up to 2005). Weaknesses: The registry is missing registrations from 2006 onwards.

Type of data

Data Source
Registry

Type of Study
Crosssection regular

Data gathering method
Registries

Access to data

Conditions of access
Data cannot be downloaded directly.

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Anonymised microdata

Formats available
SPSS (default)

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
Data was first collected between 1981 and 2010 (data collected in 2011 should be available in April/May 2013); data collection is ongoing and is scheduled to continue at some point in the future. It was nearly an integral observation, but in recent years 13-18% of the discharges are missing.

First year of collection
1981

Stratification if applicable
Not applicable

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
All hospitalisations in short-stay general and university hospitals. (Semi)-private clinics are excluded.

Age range
No age restrictions

Statistical representativeness
Other, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
Detailed study of: Hospitalisation; frequency, diagnosis.

Linkage

Standardisation

Possibility of linkage among databases
Linkage is possible, but linkage to key LMR is limited, therefore not all discharges can be linked. Data can be longitudinally linked with auxiliary file of uniquely linkable persons based on population register.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
Missing registrations of hospitalizations, unknown diagnosis (from 2006 onwards; 18% in 2011). Missing registrations are imputed to make a complete file, but the imputed records cannot be linked.

Breaks
Change in ICD-version from 2012 onwards (ICD10). Linkable data from 1995 onwards.

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
Yes, except for ICD9-ICD10 change from 2012 onwards

Governance

Contact information
Department of Health and Health Care
Statistics Netherlands
Henri Faasdreef 312
2492 JP Den Haag Netherlands Phone: Infoservice: 003188 570 70 70
Email: info(at)cbs.nl
Url:

Timeliness, transparency
Data is collected on an irregular basis.