About

DOI:10.25816/xdvs-6944

The National Health Data Hub (NHDH) is a major national de-identified linked data system that draws together core government administrative health, welfare, disability and aged care datasets. No other collection routinely brings together the core data that the NHDH does or delivers such a vast range of insights for health, welfare, disability and aged care policy and research. The NHDH is now an integral data resource in the Australian linked data landscape and contributes widely to an array of government programs.

The NHDH can be used to support policy development, service delivery and community benefits. Examples include:

  • Policy development
    • Helping to inform strategies and best practices to improve post-hospitalisation medication use for patients. 
    • Aiding policy makers and health practitioners understanding of patterns and cost of health and welfare service use. 
    • Enhancing the understanding of the hospital interaction profile for those who have experienced particular events, and those who are at risk of further hospital stays. 
    • Demonstrating the feasibility of predicting early diagnosis of health and welfare conditions.
  • Service delivery
    • Understanding the transition from hospital and welfare services into the community, and use of recommended medications.
    • Informing potential service intervention opportunities through examining service use by persons with particular conditions or who have experienced certain events (for example, injuries).
    • Assisting in the promotion and delivery of appropriate services for each stage of care through the analysis of GP and specialist services used by people with particular conditions, as well as use of specific services over time.
  • Community benefits
    • Identifying subgroups of the population who are not initiating or continuing to take recommended medications following a hospital visit. Providing additional support to these groups may improve patterns of medication use in the population and reduce the risk of secondary health events.
    • Bringing together different sources of data to address gaps in our understanding of the impacts of population growth, ageing, and increased longevity – all of which have an impact on health service use, thereby helping in community planning.
    • Using linked data to provide better evidence to support policies and services aimed at improving outcomes for people living with certain conditions, and their carers.

What the NHDH can be used for

The NHDH may be used to undertake analyses for statistical and research purposes, including aged care. This includes:

  • research and statistical analyses to inform government health and welfare service planning, monitoring and evaluation and health and welfare policy development, including official statistics, related insights and reporting
  • research and statistical analyses that supports non-government questions about population health and health outcomes, welfare services, disability services, and aged care outcomes. In some instances, projects may require a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval
  • monitoring variations and patterns of population outcomes to inform clinical practice review and service delivery for the purposes of ensuring safety and quality of care
  • data design and development of performance and productivity measures where the measures require linked data (Government projects only)
  • performance and outcomes reporting where the measures require linked data. Jurisdictional and sub-state performance and outcomes reporting are permitted for these projects (Government projects only).

The NHDH can be used to inform topics such as: 

  • population analysis for cohorts and sub-populations, where approved
  • patterns of use and effectiveness of health and residential aged care services, including its interactions with wellbeing characteristics
  • risks for population and particular patient cohorts such as disability services, and aged care services
  • accessibility and effectiveness of services contributing to the management of chronic conditions
  • exploring and estimating health system costs associated with procedures, diagnosis, and health events
  • validation of the current treatment pathways for chronic disease management and care
  • defining patient/client journeys and assessing efficiency and effectiveness of the health and residential aged care systems
  • policies and programs designed to reduce the incidence and severity of disease and injury.

What the NHDH cannot be used for

The NHDH cannot be used for purposes that are not under the agreed arrangements for the establishment of the NHDH. Examples of what the NHDH cannot be used for includes, but is not limited to:

  • for purposes not described in the section What the NHDH can be used for
  • to identify and report on any individual
  • to identify and report on any service provider or clinical practice, unless approvals from data custodians has been granted
  • to identify and report on individual diagnosis of a medical condition(s)
  • commercial gain, commercial interest and profit 
  • author data insights, findings, and reports at an individual level (e.g. reporting based on the Project-specific Person Numbers (PPNs) or other such row level identifiers)
  • performance and outcomes reporting where the measures do not require linked data
  • compliance reporting and/or administrative purposes, where examples include but are not limited to:
    • investigating and reporting the misuse of:
      • health, aged care and disability services,
      • health equipment, 
      • medical devices, 
      • services provided (MBS compliance)
      • medications dispensed (PBS compliance), and
      • biologicals (such as vaccines)
    • reporting on the performance of individuals, clinical practices, or service providers.

The NHDH also cannot be used for official performance monitoring or reporting below the national level – including measures from the Australian Health Performance Framework (AHPF), Indigenous Health Performance Framework (IHPF), Report on Government Services (RoGS), or National Health Agreement (NHA) – unless approval has been granted from data custodians. Examples include:

  • reporting on the performance of health-care and the Australian health system based on performance frameworks at the state and territory level or sub-levels 
  • investigating key system performance indicators, such as wait times, at the state and territory level or sub-levels.

There may be purposes the NHDH cannot be used for other than those listed above. Please contact the AIHW at [email protected] if you would like to discuss the specifics of your project.

Analyst responsibilities when using the NHDH 

Analysts must not attempt to link other collections or any other available unit record dataset to the NHDH without prior approval.

Analysts must not attempt to identify any individual within the NHDH. An analyst using the NHDH is not to make a copy of data from the host environment, neither digital nor handwritten, for example, by a screenshot, screen share or other digital image, or writing down results etc. Such attempts to do so may result in deactivation of access to the NHDH.

Community benefits 

The NHDH facilitates data-driven and evidence-based policy and decision making, enabling a more comprehensive analysis of the community’s health needs. The NHDH unlocks valuable insights for researchers, leading to advancements in medical research and innovation, as well as targeted public health and wellbeing interventions and resource allocations and enhanced understanding of health and welfare trends.

Building community trust 

The NHDH endeavours to build and maintain community trust relating to access and use of person-centric health and welfare data. This is achieved through a range of approaches based on principles relating to transparency, privacy protection, community engagement and accountability.