The National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD)

• Published in: Epidemiology and health pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Liang-Yu Lin, Charlotte Warren-Gash, Liam Smeeth, Pau-Chung Chen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 한국역학회 01.12.2018
• Subjects: 예방의학
• ISSN: 2092-7193
• DOI: 10.4178/epih.e2018062

Electronic health records (EHRs) can provide researchers with extraordinary opportunities for population based research. The National Health Insurance system of Taiwan was established in 1995 and covers more than 99.6% of the Taiwanese population; this system’s claims data are released as the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD). All data from primary outpatient departments and inpatient hospital care settings are included in this database. After a change and update in 2016, the NHIRD is maintained and regulated by the Data Science Centre of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan. Datasets for approved research are released in three forms: sampling datasets comprising two million subjects, disease-specific datasets, and full population datasets. These datasets are de-identified and contain basic demographic information, disease diagnoses, prescriptions, operations, and investigations. Data can be linked to governmental surveys or other research datasets. While only a small number of validation studies with small sample sizes have been undertaken, they generally report positive predictive values of over 70% across different diagnoses. Currently, patients cannot opt out of inclusion in the database, though this requirement is under review. In conclusion, the NHIRD is a large, powerful data source for biomedical research. KCI Citation Count: 0