Accessing PHRU data All projects must be submitted for formal review to a Data Access Committee. –DAC meets monthly to review projects with consideration to privacy, confidentiality, and security issues. –Consists of representatives from Department of Health, PHRU, CCNS, RCP, Capital Health, IWK, and other stakeholders. –Projects are submitted electronically via an automated form on the website and DAC members are notified automatically that a new project has been submitted for review.

Accessing PHRU Data

PHRU’s Interactive Website As part of PHRU’s ongoing commitment to the improvement of data awareness and utilization, we have undertaken the following initiatives: 1.Developed a web-based Concept Dictionary using open-source CMS to disseminate data usage information among users of the datasets.

PHRU’s Interactive Website 2.Developing online Metadata Documentation Repository for existing PHRU health datasets including both descriptive and summary metadata (freqencies, means, formatting codes). 3.Developed proposal to integrate PHRU’s metadata documentation with heuristic search tools using UMLS (Unified Medical Language System) for topic-map query translation. Physician Billings 2004 Sample Metadata Documentation Demo

Initiated in 2000, the NDSS in Nova Scotia is an ongoing collaboration of 1.Public Health Agency of Canada 2.Nova Scotia Department of Health, 3.Diabetes Care Program of Nova Scotia, and 4.Population Health Research Unit at Dalhousie University National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS) The main goals of the NDSS are to:  Generate estimates of Diabetes incidence and prevalence that are comparable across all provinces and territories, and  Increase the capacity in the provinces and territories to use routinely collected administrative data for surveillance activities.

Mental Health Profiles of 9 District Health Authorities PHRUNova Scotia Department of HealthAn ongoing collaborative project between PHRU and the Nova Scotia Department of Health Aim is to provide a reference for, promote discussion of, and inform policy regarding mental health services in NS Mental Health Monitoring Working Group Canadian Institute for Health InformationDirected by the Mental Health Monitoring Working Group of the NS DOH, working within the population health monitoring framework established by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) Use Census and Administrative data to monitor various predictors and indicators of mental health Hope to expand profiles in the future by incorporating data from health surveys and other sources

DRUG EVALUATION ALLIANCE OF NOVA SCOTIA (DEANS) –DEANS is an ongoing collaboration funded through the NS DOH –DEANS brings together key partners interested in encouraging appropriate drug use including CME, CPE, family medicine, pharmacoepidemiology and PHRU –Examples of projects with involvement from PHRU: –Wet nebulaization conversion initiative –Profiling Physicians on the Use of Topical Corticosteroids –Chlorpropamide initiative

Surveillance AAROC = 2.7%