MedicineInsight research projects register

This register lists all projects which have been approved to use MedicineInsight data. The project summaries are sourced from the data access form submitted by applicants.

Recently published research

Project Publication

Assessing patterns of cardiovascular risk management in people with chronic kidney disease

Quality of Chronic Kidney Disease care in Australian primary care: analysis of a national general practice dataset

Sex-related differences in Chronic Kidney Disease monitoring and Cardiovascular risk management in Australian Primary Care: a retrospective cohort study

Assessing patterns of chronic kidney disease care in Australian primary care: a retrospective cohort study of a national general practice dataset

Linkage of hospital and primary care data to drive improvements in cancer care Factors associated with diagnostic and treatment intervals in colorectal cancer: A linked data study

Trends in Dementia Diagnosis and Medication Use in Australian General Practice Trends in renal function testing in patients with dementia: a repeated cross-sectional analysis in Australian general practice

Health system integration using data linkage Estimating the cost of chronic kidney disease in Australia

Establishing patterns of primary health care usage in cancer at end of life General practice utilisation by Australian cancer patients in the last year of life

Project	Publication
Assessing patterns of cardiovascular risk management in people with chronic kidney disease	Quality of Chronic Kidney Disease care in Australian primary care: analysis of a national general practice dataset Sex-related differences in Chronic Kidney Disease monitoring and Cardiovascular risk management in Australian Primary Care: a retrospective cohort study Assessing patterns of chronic kidney disease care in Australian primary care: a retrospective cohort study of a national general practice dataset
Linkage of hospital and primary care data to drive improvements in cancer care	Factors associated with diagnostic and treatment intervals in colorectal cancer: A linked data study
Trends in Dementia Diagnosis and Medication Use in Australian General Practice	Trends in renal function testing in patients with dementia: a repeated cross-sectional analysis in Australian general practice
Health system integration using data linkage	Estimating the cost of chronic kidney disease in Australia
Establishing patterns of primary health care usage in cancer at end of life	General practice utilisation by Australian cancer patients in the last year of life

Quality improvement in primary care projects

Socioeconomic and place-related factors and relation to prescription of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) medications in primary and secondary prevention of CVD

Organisation: The University of Sydney

Funding source: Westmead Applied Research Centre (WARC)

This project will assess the extent to which socioeconomic status of an area contributes to geographic disparity in prescription patterns for cardiovascular disease risk factors in GP practices around Australia, and will evaluate the relationship between the remoteness and socioeconomic index of an area (on prescription practices).

Phenotyping (Supplementing the clinical coding of patients utilising longitudinal data)

Organisation: University of Melbourne

Funding source: University of Melbourne

This project will utilise MedicineInsight data to evaluate the quality of electronic medical record data for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and type 2 diabetes and through the analysis shall use longitudinal markers of care to supplement diagnostic coding where medical records are incomplete.

Use of psychotropic medicines in primary care patients aged 65 years or older

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

Considerable variation in rates of antipsychotic and other psychotropic medicine use has been identified by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (the Commission). This suggests that these medicines may be being used inappropriately. However, the Commission’s analyses rely on PBS data which is unable to be linked to diagnoses or information about transitions of care. PBS data is also unable to provide information on whether these medicines are also being ordered as private prescriptions. MedicineInsight will be used to fill these information gaps.

Managing cholesterol in higher risk patients attending primary care

Iron deficiency MedicineInsight report and quality improvement activity for the WA Primary Health Alliance

Risk factors for inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics in Australian general practices

Organisation: Curtin University

Funding source: WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA)

This program aims to identify predictors and outcomes as well as to explore the contexts for the inappropriate prescribing of systemic antibiotics in general practices. MedicineInsight data will be used to examine related factors associated with the inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics particularly for tract, ear, skin, urinary tract and eye infections. The data analysis looks to identify the direction, strength and nature of these associations. This program will inform policy and practice in primary care.

Monitoring and evaluation of the Heart Foundation’s Risk Reduction Program

Optimising quality of care among Australians with dementia

Atrial fibrillation and its management and outcomes in Australian primary care

Organisation: University of Tasmania
Funding source: University of Tasmania

This research project is investigating the prevalence, management and outcomes of atrial fibrillation in Australian general practice. They will look at the use of oral anticoagulants and the adherence with guidelines to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Publications

Ten-Year Trends in the Use of Oral Anticoagulants in Australian General Practice Patients With Atrial Fibrillation
Woldesellassie M. Bezabhe, Luke R. Bereznicki, Jan Radford, Barbara C. Wimmer, Colin Curtain, Mohammed S. Salahudeen and Gregory M. Peterson

Five-Year Trends in Potential Drug Interactions with Direct-Acting Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: An Australian-Wide Study
Woldesellassie M. Bezabhe, Luke R. Bereznicki, Jan Radford, Barbara C. Wimmer, Mohammed S. Salahudeen, Ivan Bindoff, Edward Garrahy, and Gregory M. Peterson

Factors influencing oral anticoagulant use in patients newly diagnosed with atrial fibrillation
Woldesellassie M Bezabhe, Luke R Bereznicki, Jan Radford, Barbara C Wimmer, Colin Curtain, Mohammed S Salahudeen, Gregory M Peterson

Oral Anticoagulant Treatment and the Risk of Dementia in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Population‐Based Cohort Study
Woldesellassie M, Bezabhe WM, Bereznicki LR, Radford J, Wimmer BC, Salahudeen MS, Garrahy E, Bindoff I, Peterson GM

Oral Anticoagulant Discontinuation and Its Predictors in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation
Kefale AT, Bezabhe WM, and Peterson GM

Recording of absolute CV risk using in-built calculators in GP clinical information systems

Hunter Alliance Diabetes Management project

Organisation: Hunter New England Local Health District

Funding source: Hunter Alliance Partners

The Diabetes Alliance program objective is to provide knowledge and support to primary care clinicians for them to give best evidenced care to patients with type 2 diabetes. MedicineInsight data will be used for assessing the management and potential improvements in clinical outcomes of patients with affected by this condition within practices. The results will help to improve the development of programs looking to better manage this chronic disease in the Hunter and New England region.

How well are people with coronary heart disease managed in primary care?

Organisation: La Trobe University
Funding source: Heart Foundation

This study examines how patients are managed in general practice according to clinical guidelines for coronary heart disease CHD, in particular differences in level of treatment and management within the patient cohort.

Publication

Sex disparities in the management of coronary heart disease in general practices in Australia. Heart 2019;0:1–7
Lee CMY, Mnatzaganian G, Woodward M, Chow CK, Sitas F, Robinson S, Huxley R

Monitoring and evaluation of the Heart Foundation’s Risk Reduction Program

Recording of absolute CV risk using in-built calculators in GP clinical information systems

Quality Use of Medicines for people living with HIV

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Gilead Sciences Australia and New Zealand

The aim of the project is to build and deliver a quality improvement intervention for the general practices and sexual health clinics in Australia that treat a significant proportion of people living with HIV, to highlight and address the identified gaps in care for those patient.

Publication

The prevalence and risk of non-infectious comorbidities in HIV-infected and non-HIV infected men attending general practice in Australia
Heron JE, Norman SM , Yoo J, Lembke K, O'Connor CC, Weston CE, Gracey DM

Conference poster
Date published: 9 June 2019

Respiratory infection vaccination and antibiotic prescribing in Australian primary care

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

The aim of this study is to determine whether vaccination against respiratory infections is associated with a subsequent reduction in antibiotic prescribing.

This study plans to investigate the relationship between vaccination for respiratory infections and antibiotic prescribing for patients attending primary care in Australian general practice using MedicineInsight data.

A cluster randomised controlled trial of a MedicineInsight educational quality improvement program to improve the diagnosis and treatment of chronic hepatitis c in general practice

Influenza vaccine research feasibility assessment

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: CSL (Seqirus)

The purpose of this project is to explore the feasibility of using MedicineInsight data to conduct research evaluating 2018 influenza vaccines for primary care patients aged 65 years and older. Research areas of interest include the safety and effectiveness of vaccines used in this age group, and the comparative effectiveness of the two vaccines provided through the National Immunisation Program.

Evaluation of targeted hepatitis C virus education

A pharmaco-epidemiological study of osteoporosis management in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Theramex

The aim of this project is to determine the prevalence and patterns of osteoporosis treatment pathways and treatment-associated outcomes. The analysis of MedicineInsight is part of a broader project which will also recruit GPs with high numbers of cases of osteoporosis patients for interview on reasons for treatment pathways.

Project summary

A pharmaco-epidemiological study of osteoporosis management in Australian general practice

Publication

Osteoporosis management in Australian general practice: an analysis of current osteoporosis treatment patterns and gaps in practice

Naik-Panvelkar P, Norman S, Elgebaly Z, Elliott J, Pollack A, Thistlethwaite J, Weston C & Seibel MJ

Iron deficiency and associated conditions in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Vifor Pharma

MedicineInsight will be studied to understand the diagnosis and management of iron deficiency, and characterisation of patients with iron deficiency. It is anticipated that the results of this study may form the basis for future research and potentially inform the development of educational interventions aimed at improving outcomes for patients.

Project summary

Iron deficiency and associated conditions in Australian general practice

Lung cancer management in primary care: Feasibility project

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Cancer Institute New South Wales (CINSW)

This program aims to test the feasibility of using MedicineInsight data to gain insights into the primary care provided to patients diagnosed with lung cancer since the time of their first recorded diagnosis. The data analysis will assist the Cancer Institute New South Wales (CINSW) to better understand the impact of lung cancer on general practices and improve development and evaluation in this field, with primary health care.

Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) - 2017 report

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

The Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) Surveillance System objective is to prevent and contain the risk of antimicrobial resistance for human health. This program reports on the use and appropriate prescription of antimicrobials in hospitals, aged care homes and the community. MedicineInsight data is used for the generation of the AURA 2017 report that is available on the link below on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care webpage.

Publication

AURA 2017: Second Australian report on antimicrobial use and resistance in human health

2017

Publication, report or update

Hepatitis C educational and quality improvement program for general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Gilead Sciences Australia and New Zealand

NPS MedicineWise is undertaking a project in general practice to support general practitioners in the diagnosis and management of patients with chronic hepatitis C infection. The project will focus on the appropriate use of medical tests and medicines, and a quality improvement program designed and developed as a result of the analysis from the MedicineInsight data will be delivered to about 100 general practices across Australia.

Publication

Insights into the management of chronic hepatitis C in primary care using MedicineInsight. Aust J Gen Pract 2018;47:639-45

Chidwick K, Kiss D, Gray R, Yoo J, Aufgang M, Zekry A

Preventive cardio-metabolic health care in general practice for people living with HIV compared with the general population

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Gilead Sciences Australia and New Zealand

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an important health problem in Australia. People living with HIV have higher risks of developing cardiovascular disease. NPS MedicineWise is aiming to use MedicineInsight data to compare and identify gaps in the management of cardiovascular risk factors of people living with HIV. The results of the analysis will be used to develop an educational program for selected general practices treating people with HIV. Outcomes of the project will be made public on the NPS MedicineWise website.

MedicineInsight expansion in the Hunter New England Central Coast

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NIB Health Funds

The project is designed to improve the care of people in the community of the Hunter New England Central Coast PHN area by providing MedicineInsight program products and services to additional general practices which serve these communities. The expansion of MedicineInsight in these communities is funded by an independent grant from NIB Health Funds. MedicineInsight data will also be used to generate an annual report to identify improvements in clinical markets for the patient cohort. Copies of those reports will be published on our website.

Identifying factors and subpopulations associated with high use and high cost of services in general practice. A feasibility study

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project uses MedicineInsight data to determine which demographic factors and comorbidities are associated with high service use and high service costs in the general practice setting. The outputs of the data analysis will generate a report that will be used by NPS MedicineWise and the Menzies Centre for Health Policy to develop a simulation model to identify the impact of interventions to reduce low value care.

The impact of My Health Record use in primary care: Qualitative study

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Digital Health Agency

This project uses MedicineInsight data to explore the use of the My Health Record in relation to medication management, in particular by determining high users of the My Health Record in NSW and Victoria, to recruit general practitioners and consumers to conduct in-depth interviews. The outcome of this study will also help inform other studies focusing on the impact of My Health Record in primary care.

Osteoporosis feasibility assessment

Optimising early end-of-life conversations and advance care planning in general practice (Stage 1)

The impact of My Health Record use in primary care: Quantitative study

Organisation: University of Melbourne

Funding source: Australian Digital Health Agency

This project is a continuation of the qualitative study undertaken by NPS MedicineWise, to explore the use of the My Health Record in relation to whether having a My Health Record reduces duplication of tests and prescriptions for people concurrently attending multiple practices, and the measurement of the proportion of allergy and adverse drug reactions captured in the practice clinical information system and the My Health Record.

Closing the gap on Indigenous cardiovascular health: Improving community outcomes through policy relevant research

Organisation: University of Melbourne

Funding source: Melbourne Academic Centre for Health

This collaborative project is the largest study of cardiovascular risk and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receiving care in Victorian general practice. The study aims to determine how variations in cardiovascular disease risk, events and treatment influences Australian Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes.

Linkage of hospital and primary care data to drive improvements in cancer care

Organisation: University of Melbourne
Funding source: Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC) and Bupa Foundation

This project is the first large-scale, comprehensive data linkage of primary care and hospital data for cancer patients to create a platform for health services and other cancer research. Hospital clinical, clinical registry, administrative and costing data from 7 VCCC partner hospitals will be linked with Victorian Cancer Registry data. This linkage will allow identification of patients who have had a diagnosis of cancer within the hospital data. The cancer cohort will then be linked to primary care data (MedicineInsight) as well as patient-reported outcomes survey data collected by the VCCC.

Publications

Primary Care Datasets for Early Lung Cancer Detection: An AI Led Approach
Ristanioski G, Emery J, Martinez Gutierrez J, McCarthy D

Clinical activity in general practice prior to sarcoma diagnosis: Australian cohort study
Rafiq M, de Boer J, Mar J, Desai J, Bae S, Gyorki DE, Di Bella C, Lyratzopoulos G, Lewin J and Emery J

Factors associated with diagnostic and treatment intervals in colorectal cancer: A linked data study

Drosdowsky A, Lamb KE, Te Marvelde L, Gibbs P, Dunn C, Faragher I, Jones I, IJzerman MJ, Emery JD

Cardiac outcomes linked data project

Organisation	Department of Health (Victoria)
Primary Investigator & Position	Kate Riley Sandler. Manager Linked Data Projects Victorian Agency for Health Information, Department of Health
Funding Source	Australian Government Department of Health Project funding was made available through the Health Innovation Fund, via negotiations as part of the National Health Reform Agreement 2020–2025, resulting in the Federation Funding Agreement on Prevention of Avoidable Hospital Admissions, Obesity and Chronic Disease
Description	This project will draw on a newly created linked primary and acute care data asset – with MedicineInsight providing the primary care/GP data within the asset – to illuminate the patient journey of care within the Victorian health system, to routinely identify patients with CVD at high risk of hospitalisation and to define patterns of care associated with poorer health outcomes. The project also aims to use the linked data asset to develop predictive algorithms to assist GPs improve their ability to identify patients at risk of hospitalisation within their practices, so they can provide early targeted care interventions
Ethics Committee	Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee (DH HREC)
Data Linkage Study	Yes Held by the Department of Health (Vic): Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED) Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) Victorian Integrated Non-Admitted Health Dataset (VINAH) Elective Surgery Information System (ESIS) Victorian Cost Data Collection (VCDC) Victorian Ambulance Minimum Dataset (VADS) Victorian Death Index Cause of Death Unit Record File (ICD-10 coded cause of death) Community Health Services Mental Health Community Support Services Alcohol and Drugs Services
Committee Assessment	Conditionally Approved – 13 October 2021
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Breathlessness in Australia: Burden, Risk Factors, Causes, Patterns of Care, Outcomes and Cost Optimization Potential

Organisation	The George Institute for Global Health
Primary Investigator & Position	Christine Jenkins, Head, Respiratory Group, The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney
Funding Source	The George Institute for Global Health and UNSW Sydney
Description	This study aims to understand the current burden of breathlessness in Australia as well as its risk factors and causes. The study also aims to understand current patterns of care, patient presentations, investigations and outcomes to inform the development of a clinical algorithm for breathlessness. This body of work aims to drive improvements in care, better patient outcomes and cost optimization for diagnosing and managing breathlessness in primary care.
Ethics Committee	Human Research Ethics Committee UNSW Sydney
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 7 October 2020. Amendment approved June 2022
Amendments	Amended to facilitate provision of denominator tabular data
Publication	Acceptability and Feasibility of a Chronic Breathlessness Clinical Algorithm in Australian Primary Care Sunjaya AP, Martin A, Arnott C, Di Tanna GL, Gianacas C, Marks GB, Jenkins CR

Short-term health care impacts of the older person’s health assessment

Organisation	University of Newcastle
Primary Investigator & Position	Mariko Carey, NHMRC Fellow
Funding Source	Dementia Team Grant funded by National Health and Medical Research Council
Description	This project will use NPS MedicineInsight data to develop two subsamples: one group with a diagnosis of dementia and the other without. Within each subsample, people who have had a health assessment will be matched on the basis of clinical, demographic and prior health care use with people who have had a primary care attendance at a similar time. This will allow comparison of subsequent primary health care use for a) people with dementia who have and have not had a health assessment and b) people without dementia who have and have not had a health assessment.
Ethics Committee	University of Newcastle Human Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 8 December 2021
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Understanding the health care of adults with cerebral palsy

Organisation	Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Primary Investigator & Position	Dinah Reddihough, Paediatrician, Royal Children’s Hospital; Honorary Professorial Fellow, The University of Melbourne; Senior Research Fellow, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Funding Source	NHMRC – grant
Description	Our aim is to improve the health and well-being of people with cerebral palsy by understanding health service use in this population (item numbers and frequency of attendance), medications prescribed and investigations ordered, compared to a matched control group of individuals without cerebral palsy.
Ethics Committee	Royal Children’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 10 February 2021
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Assessing patterns of cardiovascular risk management in people with chronic kidney disease

Organisation	The George Institute for Global Health, Australia
Primary Investigator & Position	Min Jun, Project Leader
Funding Source	The George Institute for Global Health, Australia
Description	This research project will help us to better understand current patterns of CV risk management in CKD in Australian primary care. This will help to highlight potential gaps in CKD care and enable the development of effective and sustainable quality improvement strategies aimed at improving outcomes in people with CKD.
Ethics Committee	Sydney Local Health District (SLHD) RPA Zone Research Ethics and Governance Office
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 9 April 2020, 1st Amendment approved 11 August 2021, 2nd Amendment approved June 2022
Amendments	Amendment 1 – expand patient cohort Amendment 2 – add new researchers
Publication	The prevalence of chronic kidney disease in Australian primary care: analysis of a national general practice dataset Jun M, Wick J, Neuen BL, Kotwal S, Badve SV, Woodward M, Chalmers J, Peiris D, Rodgers A, Nallaiah K, Jardine MJ, Perkovic V, Gallagher M, Ronksley PE Estimating the population-level kidney benefits of improved uptake of SGLT2 inhibitors in patients with chronic kidney disease in Australian primary care Neuen BL, Jun M, Wick J, Kotwal S, Badve SV, Jardine MJ, Gallagher M, Chalmers J, Nallaiah K, Perkovic V, Peiris D, Rodgers A, Woodward M, Ronksley PE Quality of Chronic Kidney Disease care in Australian primary care: analysis of a national general practice dataset Wallace H, Wick J, Ketema D, Nelson C, Woodward M, Badve S, Jardine MJ, Neuen BL, Gallagher M, Kotwal S, Jun M Sex-related differences in Chronic Kidney Disease monitoring and Cardiovascular risk management in Australian Primary Care: a retrospective cohort study Wallace H, Buizen L, Badve SV, Ha JT, Bekele Ketema D, Ronksley P, Sasaki T, Harris K, Henry A, Woodward M, Kotwal SS, Jun M Assessing patterns of chronic kidney disease care in Australian primary care: a retrospective cohort study of a national general practice dataset Wallace H, Wick J, Bekele Ketema D, Buizen L, Woodward M, Peiris D, Neuen BL, Robertson C, Nelson C, Chalmers J, Badve SV, Kotwal SS, Ronksley P, Gallagher M. Jun M

AURA 2025

Organisation	Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Primary Investigator & Position	Brighid Carey, Manager, Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA)
Funding Source	Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Description	The majority of antimicrobial use in Australia occurs in the community, that is non-hospital settings. Antimicrobial use is a key factor in the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The more antimicrobials are used, the most likely it is AMR will develop. Effective surveillance and monitoring of antimicrobial use is essential to determine the burden of AMR, and to inform strategies for infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship programs to fight the development and spread of AMR and maintain patient safety. The Commission’s Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) Project contributes to the national program for surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance in human health across Australia. Under a contract with the Department of Health and Aged Care (the Department), in 2025, the Commission is required to report on antimicrobial use and appropriateness in the community using dispensing data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) and prescribing data from MedicineInsight. Analyses will build on previous publications including five national AURA reports (most recently AURA 2023), Antimicrobial use and appropriateness in the community: 2020–2021, Analysis of 2015–2022 PBS and RPBS antimicrobial dispensing data and Antimicrobial use in the community: 2023).
Ethics Committee	RACGP NREEC – MedicineInsight Ethics Approval
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved - 3 April 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Mapping sex differences in the journey of an individual with coronary heart disease through the healthcare system

Organisation	Deakin University
Primary Investigator & Position	Crystal Lee, Senior Research Fellow
Funding Source	NHMRC - Grant
Description	A general practice visit is often the first point of contact with the health system and a gateway to other specialist health services. However, data from different services are not easily “joined up” making it difficult to look across the patient’s care journey. Importantly, there is growing evidence to indicate that women are experiencing much different coronary heart disease (CHD) care pathways in Australia compared with men and that they are underrepresented in the evidence informing current care pathways. This project will use records of individuals from MedicineInsight joined to their inpatient, emergency department, mortality, medical services claims and drug dispensing records to study healthcare journeys of CHD patients over the past 20 years. The joined-up dataset will allow us to identify points of failure that impact on patient management and risk of hospital readmission that potentially disadvantage women more than men. This research will contribute to improvements in the delivery of health services and patient outcomes in Australia by addressing 1) Women’s health – a national and state health priority; 2) Polypharmacy – through the study of linked prescription and dispensing data of cardiovascular medications, and 3) Antipsychotics – a recommendation for comorbid depression in the CHD GP management plan.
Ethics Committee	Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee (DUHREC); WA Health Central HREC (formerly Department of Health WA Human Research Ethics Committee); Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Ethics Committee; NSW Population and Health Services Research Ethics Committee (NSW PHSREC).
Data Linkage Study	Yes - Western Australia (Data Linkage Services WA): Emergency Department Data Collection, Hospital Morbidity Data Collection, Death Registrations, Mortality Data – Coded fields (Cause of Death Unit Record File).
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Cost-effectiveness and cost benefit analysis of alternative treatment options for uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women in Australia

Organisation	The University of Queensland
Primary Investigator & Position	A/Prof Jean Spinks, Associate Professor Research, Health Economics
Funding Source	The University of Queensland
Description	Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women are a highly prevalent condition, affecting at least 50-60% of adult women at some point in their lifetime. It is estimated that UTIs represent around 1.8% of all presentations to general practitioners in Australia each year, a total of around 2.6 million presentations as a result. With GPs under increasing workload pressure due to estimated workforce shortages, a number of jurisdictions worldwide have allowed other prescribers, including nurses and pharmacists, to provide antibiotic treatment to women with uncomplicated UTIs. This is consistent with the idea of allowing nurses and pharmacists to treat minor ailments, such as (viral) upper respiratory tract infections, minor skin infections and thrush. However, there is scant evidence of the cost effectiveness of GP compared to non-GP prescribers providing treatment for acute cystitis.
Ethics Committee	The University of Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Health and Economic Burden of interstitial Lung Diseases in Australia, and Characterising Patient Pathways to the Diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease: Real World Data Study

Organisation	Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
Primary Investigator & Position	Ingrid Cox, Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Funding Source	NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Pulmonary Fibrosis (Tamera Corte) and NHMRC Investigator Grant (Tamera Corte, University of Sydney)
Description	Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are a group of disorders typified by inflammation and/or fibrosis of the lung parenchyma, which typically leads to lung function decline, poor quality of life and premature death. Over 200 ILDs have been identified ranging from rare to relatively common. In Australia while the profile of ILDs has not been described in detail, we know that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) accounts for approximately 30% of ILDs. Given the expanding range of diagnostic methods and precision treatments, describing the health and economic burden of ILD, and the potential impact of existing and new therapeutic options, is vital for translating the findings to real-world populations. It is particularly important to demonstrate cost-effectiveness of precision medicine in order to secure government subsidies for treatments and investigations. Maximising anti-fibrotic treatment benefits to extend lifespan require diagnosis as early as possible is also essential, however, there is limited understanding of the pathway to a diagnosis of ILD.
Ethics Committee	University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee Sydney Local Health District: Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Zone
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Mapping men’s health systems use – engagement and dropout from primary care

Organisation	Movember Foundation (The Movember Institute of Men’s Health)
Primary Investigator & Position	Associate Professor Zac Seidler and Ben Rogers
Funding Source	Movember Foundation
Description	Men report barriers to successful engagement in healthcare, and may, as a consequence, drop out of care, which can have devastating consequences. These consequences are reflected in data that shows that nearly 2 in every 5 Australian men (37%) die prematurely, and this rate is higher for subgroups of men (Movember Men’s Health Report, 2024*). There remain gaps in knowledge on men’s movement through the healthcare system. This request is part of a project that aims to use a range of datasets to piece together which men and why, how, and where they engage with primary care, their referral and prescription uptakes and where and why they drop out of care, and the consequences of such. Collective learnings, understanding limitations of individual datasets, will allow us to target points of intervention for men themselves and for healthcare services itself, including healthcare practitioner education on approaches to better reaching, responding to and retaining men in care until their health needs are care.
Ethics Committee	Bellberry HREC and the Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Trends in osteoarthritis management in general practice across Australia

Organisation	Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania
Primary Investigator & Position	Associate Professor Dawn Aitken, Principal Research Fellow, Menzies Institute for Medical Research and Academic Lead for the Tasmanian Collaboration for Health Improvement (NHMRC Emerging Research Translation Centre)
Funding Source	University of Tasmania
Description	Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent, painful, and disabling condition affecting one in five Australians over the age of 45. First-line treatments for osteoarthritis include exercise, education and weight management (if appropriate). Exercise has compelling evidence of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness and is recommended by all international guidelines as first-line treatment for osteoarthritis. Yet our research and others have shown that GPs in Australia refer to exercise professionals only 5% of the time. Opioid prescriptions (20%) and referrals for surgery (14%) are far more common, despite clinical guidelines recommending against opioid use for osteoarthritis and advising surgery only when all non-surgical options have been exhausted. The current project will help to better understand osteoarthritis management in general practice in Australia, examine trends in management over time, and identify areas of intervention to reduce low-value care. It will build on work that was published in 2021, which examined knee and hip osteoarthritis management in general practice over an 11-year (2005-2016) time period using the BEACH dataset.
Ethics Committee	University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Quality use of medicines and tests projects

Antidepressant utilisation in young people (< 25 years) attending general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will provide descriptive information on the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of younger patients prescribed antidepressant medicines, including indications for use. It will also describe the prevalence of mental health conditions among young people and trends in the prevalence of these conditions, suicide and antidepressant use over 10 years.

Epidemiology of mental health conditions and antidepressant use in young people

Characterization of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treated with single-inhaler triple therapy (SITT) or multiple-inhaler triple therapy (MITT) in Australia, using MedicineInsight and PBS data

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

This study aimed to provide evidence of real-world use of Trelegy Ellipta (once-daily single inhaler, fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) 100/62.5/25 mcg) in Australia post-PBS listing, and compare this with new users of multiple-inhaler triple therapy (MITT) in Australia post-approval of Trelegy.

Summary of GSK COPD project

Sexual Health Check – 12-month Snapshot

Economic Evaluation of the 2015 NPS MedicineWise Blood Pressure Program

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

This economic evaluation will investigate the effectiveness of the 2015 “Blood Pressure: Measure, Manage and Monitor” program in meeting its objectives and subsequently compare these measures of effectiveness to the costs of delivering the program. To assess the effectiveness of the program, the project will examine changes to prescribing behaviours at the population level through analysis of aggregated PBS data and changes to prescribing behaviours and clinical management of hypertension at the patient-level through analysis of patient-level data from MedicineInsight.

Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin – prescribing patterns before and since COVID-19

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This report will describe the prescribing patterns of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin occurring in Australian general practice during COVID-19, with a focus on prescribing outside of guidelines to patients without an approved indication for therapy. MedicineInsight is also uniquely placed to provide information about the extent of private prescribing. These analyses will be used to inform NPS MedicineWise, the Therapeutics Goods Administration (TGA) and the COVID-19 Taskforce (Observation Data Working Group).

The impact of COVID-19 on hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin prescribing patterns in general practice

Faecal Occult Blood Tests (FOBTs) ordered by GPs for people aged 50-74 years in the general practice setting

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This report is to describe the ordering of FOBT in general practice by analysing the records of the cohort of patients in the MedicineInsight general practice program who have a record of FOBT. The findings from this report will be used by the Bowel Screening Section of the Department of Health and Bowel Cancer Australia to help inform potential strategies to increase participation in the National NBCSP.

Publication

Characteristics of patients aged 50–74 years with a request for an immunochemical faecal occult blood test in the Australian general practice setting

Pollack A, Busingye D ,Thistlethwaite J , Blogg S and Chidwick K

Epidemiology of psychotropic and opioid prescription in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

This project seeks to investigate current estimates for long-term prescription of psychotropic drugs and opioids in Australian general practice. Furthermore, it will investigate possible sociodemographic and clinical characteristics influencing the prescription of these medications and possible consequences related to the long-term use of these drugs, where available.

Publications

Trends in long-term opioid prescriptions for musculoskeletal conditions in Australian general practice: a national longitudinal study using MedicineInsight, 2012–2018. BMJ Open 2021;11:e045418

Black-Tiong S, Gonzalez-Chica D, Nigel Stocks N

Trends in the prescription of drugs used for insomnia: an open-cohort study in Australian general practice, 2011–2018. Br J Gen Pract 2021;71:e877-e86

Begum M, Gonzalez-Chica D, Bernardo C, et al.

Long-term benzodiazepines and z-drug prescribing in Australian general practice between 2011 and 2018: A national study

Amelia Woods A, Begum M, Gonzalez-Chica D, Bernardo C, Hoon E, Stocks N

Trends in prescription of psychotropic medications to children and adolescents in Australian primary care from 2011 to 2018

Klau J, De Oliveira Bernardo C, Gonzalez-Chica DA, Raven M, Jureidini J

Prevalence and determinants of antibiotic use for infectious gastroenteritis in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of NSW

Funding source: University of NSW

This project will investigate risk factors in general practice for antibiotic prescribing and inappropriate prescribing with the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions based on Australian therapeutic guidelines for acute infectious gastroenteritis. Specifically there will be a focus on prescriptions not consistent with clinical guidelines, and potential risk factors for inappropriate or unnecessary prescribing.

Evaluation of NPS MedicineWise “Reducing Antibiotic Resistance” program and associated time series analysis of antibiotic prescribing.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding Source: NPS MedicineWise

This project aims to determine whether antibiotic prescribing reduced over the course of the “Reducing Antibiotic Resistance” from 2012 to 2017 using the MedicineInsight dataset, by investigating the prescribing patterns over time for antibiotics.

Publication

Effectiveness of Influenza Vaccination in Reducing Subsequent Antibiotic Prescribing in Young Children Attending Australian General Practices—A Case-Control Study

Gianacas C, Muscatello D, Blogg S, Kirk M, McIntyre P, Cheng A, Liu B

Quality use of medicines for women’s reproductive health

Organisation: University of Adelaide
Funding source: Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide

This research project is looking at real-world utilisation of medications for women’s reproductive health.

Publications

Management of encounters related to subfertility and infertility in Australian general practice: a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females

Gilbert E, Rumbold A, Campbell S, Boyle JA & Grzeskowiak L

General practitioners’ management of mastitis in breastfeeding women: a mixed method study in Australia

Amir LH, Crawford SB, Cullinane M & Grzeskowiak L

Trends in clinical management of lactational mastitis among women attending Australian general practice: a national longitudinal study using MedicineInsight, 2011–2022

Grzeskowiak L, Kunnel A, Crawford SB, Cullinane M & Amir LH

Medication changes in high risk patients with hyperkalaemia in general practice using MedicineInsight data

Organisation: The George Institute for Global Health

Funding source: AstraZeneca

This project uses MedicineInsight data to characterise and assess medication changes in high-risk patients who experience hyperkalaemia in primary care. The outputs of this project will inform an evidence-based submission to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) by the funder who is also the sponsor for a new potassium-binding medicine for the treatment of hyperkalaemia in adults.

Publication

(2019) Hyperkalemia and renin-angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor therapy in chronic kidney disease: A general practice-based, observational study

Jun M, Jardine MJ, Perkovic V, Pilard Q, Billot L, Rodgers A, et al.

A pharmaco-epidemiological study of opiate prescribing in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding: Therapeutic Goods Administration

The purpose of this report is to describe the pharmaco-epidemiological profile of opiate prescribing in Australian general practice. This study will explore MedicineInsight data to describe trends in the volume of opiate prescribing, the characteristics of the patients prescribed opioids, the conditions for which they are being used and the nature of the medicines which are co-prescribed.

Publication

Patterns of real-world opioid prescribing in Australian general practice (2013–18)

Busingye D, Daniels B, Brett J, Pollack A, Belcher J, Chidwick K and Blogg S

Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) - 2019 report

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

The Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) Surveillance System objective is to prevent and contain the risk of antimicrobial resistance for human health. This program reports on the use and appropriate prescription of antimicrobials in hospitals, aged care homes and the community. MedicineInsight data is used for the generation of the AURA 2019 report that will be made available on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care webpage.

Publication

AURA 2019: Third Australian report on antimicrobial use and resistance in human health

2019

Publication, report or update

Management of Crohn’s disease in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Emerge Health

This project used MedicineInsight data to generate a report on the prevalence and pharmaceutical treatment of Crohn’s disease.

The report will be submitted by the funder, as the sponsor of budesonide oral, a medicine used to treat Crohn’s disease, to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to provide evidence- based information about the medicine to support PBAC decision making.

A pharmaco-epidemiological study of Pregabalin in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Therapeutic Goods Administration

This study describes the pharmaco-epidemiological profile of Pregabalin prescribing in Australian general practice. The results of this study are intended to guide the assessment of safe use of Pregabalin in general practice by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

Publication

Pregabalin prescribing patterns in Australian general practice, 2012–2018: a cross-sectional study

Schaffer AL, Busingye D, Chidwick K, Brett J and Blogg S

Can MedicineInsight support risk management plan evaluation?

Organisation: University of South Australia

Funding source: University of South Australia

This project aims to analyse MedicineInsight data on the use of sodium glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for diabetes. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requires post-market monitoring as part of risk management plans for therapeutic goods that are available in the market. The post-market report generated using MedicineInsight data will help to demonstrate the feasibility of using this data for the purpose of medication safety regulations in Australia.

Publications

Use of SGLT2 inhibitors for diabetes and risk of infection: Analysis using general practice records from the NPS MedicineWise MedicineInsight program. Diabetes Res Clin Pract 2017;130:180-185

Gadzhanova S, Pratt N, Roughead E

Comparison of General Practice and Pharmaceutical Dispensing Data for Pharmacoepidemiological Research: Assessing the Risk of Urinary-Tract Infections with Sodium Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors for Diabetes

Gadzhanova S, Pratt N, Roughead E

Assessing the management of renal toxicity in primary care associated with Stribild™

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Gilead Sciences Australia and New Zealand

This project uses MedicineInsight data to assess if Highly Specialised Drugs (s100) prescribers of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medicines are managing appropriately the renal toxicity risks associated with Stribild™. The use of MedicineInsight data will provide evidence of the utility of the data to support risk management plans and help to develop strategies to support safety of new pharmaceutical products.

Finding improved pathways to diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) disorders

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Sanofi Genzyme and BioMarin Pharmaceutical Australia

The objective of this project is to analyse MedicineInsight data to determine if there are any patterns in mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) disorders cases that may facilitate an earlier diagnosis of these disorders. The MedicineInsight data analysis was used to provide a preliminary report identifying data potential and limitations for this purpose.

Project outcome report

Feasibility study to find improved pathways to diagnosis of mucopolysaccharidoses

Review of vitamin D, B12 and folate use pre- and post-November 2014

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project uses MedicineInsight data to support discussions around the current appropriateness of requesting vitamin D, vitamin B12 and folate testing in Australia. The analysis of MedicineInsight data will provide a better understanding of the impact of the new Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) policy changes for these tests that included restricting use of these tests in certain populations, and subsidy reduction.

Pneumococcal immunisation over 65 years

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

The aim of this study is to better understand who receives the pneumococcal vaccine in Australian general practice. MedicineInsight data will be used to provide a comprehensive longitudinal view of the care patients received.

Publication

Pneumococcal vaccination uptake among patients aged 65 years or over in Australian general practice

Frank O, Bernardo CDO, González-Chica D, Macartney K, Menzies R, Stocks N

The prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal/ pain conditions in Australian in general practice and their association with vitamin D testing, vitamin D deficiency, vitamin D prescribing, analgesic prescribing and patient sociodemographic characteristics

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

This project is looking at investigating chronic non-specific musculoskeletal pain (CNMP) and the role of vitamin D testing and supplementation in its management. This project uses MedicineInsight data to explore the estimates of the prevalence of musculoskeletal/ pain conditions in Australia, describe associations with patient characteristics, Vitamin D testing/ supplementation and determine if changes to Medicare rebates affected Vitamin D testing in Australian general practice. The results of the project have the potential to improve practice and contribute to clinicians, policy makers and consumers.

Publications

Epidemiology of arthritis, chronic back pain, gout, osteoporosis, spondyloarthropathies and rheumatoid arthritis among 1.5 million patients in Australian general practice: NPS MedicineWise MedicineInsight dataset. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2018;19:20

González-Chica D, Vanlint S, Hoon E, Stocks N

Changes to the frequency and appropriateness of vitamin D testing after the introduction of new Medicare criteria for rebates in Australian general practice: evidence from 1.5 million patients in the NPS MedicineInsight database BMJ Open 2019;9:e024797

Gonzalez-Chica D, Stocks N

Prevalence and determinants of antibiotic use in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of New South Wales

Funding source: University of New South Wales

Using MedicineInsight data, PhD students and their research supervisors at UNSW are investigating antibiotic prescribing risk factors in general practice. They are assessing the incidence and prevalence of antibiotic prescriptions based on the Australian therapeutic guidelines for antibiotics.

Treatment of patients with hepatitis C virus infection with direct acting anti-viral (DAA) in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

These analyses will be used to inform the Department of Health and will explore MedicineInsight data to understand how DAAs are used in general practice and to describe any changes in prescribing patterns in the four month period following PBS listing of DAAs and in the years since the listing. This report will also explore the levels of pre-treatment assessments performed in primary care, including HCV viral load and genotype testing as PBS data does not include information that would enable this analysis. Finally, we will assess the feasibility of identifying patients who achieve sustained virologic response (ie, cure) after treatment with DAAs using data from MedicineInsight.

Publication

The changing characteristics of patients with chronic hepatitis C prescribed direct acting antiviral medicines in general practice since listing of the medicines on the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

Busingye D, Chidwick K, Simpson V, Dartnell J, Dore GJ, Balcomb A, Blogg S

Osteoarthritis in General Practice

Assessing appropriateness of pathology testing in primary care- an exploratory study in older patients with type 2 diabetes

Quality use of medicines in chronic kidney disease (CKD)

Organisation: University of Tasmania

Funding source: University of Tasmania

The aim of this project is to assess the quality use of medicines in patient with CKD. The results of the MedicineInsight data analysis will help to inform discussions regarding the safe and effective prescribing of medications in patients with renal impairment.

Publications

Chronic kidney disease in Australian general practice: its prevalence, and associated patient characteristics and comorbidities, Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology Annual Scientific Meeting, Darwin, Australia, 4-6 September 2017, [Conference extract]

Radford J, Castelino RL, Jose MD, et al.

Epidemiology of chronic kidney disease in Australian general practice: National Prescribing Service MedicineWise MedicineInsight dataset, Nephrology pp. 1-9. (2018) [Refereed Article]

Radford, J and Kitsos, A and Stankovich, J and Castelino, R and Khanam, M and Jose, M and Peterson, G and Saunder, T and Wimmer, B and Razi Zaidi, T

Chronic kidney disease monitoring in Australian general practice. Aust J Gen Pract 2019; 48(3): 132-137

Khanam MA, Kitsos A, Stankovich J, Castelino R, Jose M, Kinsman L, Peterson G, Wimmer B, Zaidi STR, Radford J

(2019). Variation in Documenting Diagnosable Chronic Kidney Disease in General Medical Practice: Implications for Quality Improvement and Research. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health

Kitsos, A., Peterson, G. M., Jose, M. D., Khanam, M. A., Castelino, R. L., & Radford, J. C.

Medication Prescribing Quality in Australian Primary Care Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 783

Bezabhe, W.M.; Kitsos, A.; Saunder, T.; Peterson, G.M.; Bereznicki , L.R.; Wimmer, B.C.; Jose, M.; Radford, J.

Article

Association of continuity of care with blood pressure control in patients with chronic kidney disease and hypertension, AJGP

Khanam MA , Kitsos A Stankovich J, Castelino R Jose M Peterson GM Wimmer B Zaidi STR Radford J

A descriptive study on the utilisation of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV in the Australian general practice setting, using data routinely collected as part of the MedicineInsight program

Organisation	NPS MedicineWise
Primary Investigator & Position	Kendal Chidwick, Epidemiology Lead, MedicineInsight Research
Funding Source	Department of Health
Description	HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) first became available through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) on April 1st 2018. When PrEP (tenofovir with emtricitabine) was recommended for PBS listing, it was uncertain how it would be used in practice. The Product Information recommended that PrEP should be administered as once daily dosing, however intermittent and episodic dosing was being trialled at the time. The PBAC also raised a quality use of medicines (QUM) concern of an increase in risky (condomless) sex associated with PrEP use. The outcomes of this study on the utilisation of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV in the Australian general practice setting will be used to inform the Office of Health Technology Assessment branch and ultimately the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) at the Department of Health. The use of MedicineInsight data will be used to provide information on clinical practice with PrEP prescribing in Australian General Practice – this may allow us to address any clinical practice gaps, particularly with regards to monitoring, and to provide feedback to the PBAC, and in the ongoing development and refinement of PrEP guidelines for use. MedicineInsight data will be used to provide estimates on use of PrEP, using prescription data, pathology test results and requests for these patients for STIs and appropriate monitoring, and to provide information on the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients who receive these treatments.
Ethics Committee	Bellberry
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved
Amendments	None
Publication	Utilisation of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention in the Australian general practice setting: a longitudinal observational study Chidwick K, Pollack A, Busingye D, Norman S, Grulich A, Bavinton B, Guy R and Medland N

Characteristics of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in MedicineInsight

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding Source: NPS MedicineWise

The aim of this study was to explore medicines use (with a particular interest in non-disease modifying agents), medical testing, risk factors and co-morbidities among patients with RA visiting MedicineInsight practices. It also investigated prescribing around the time of the first recorded diagnosis.

Report

Characteristics of primary care patients recorded as having rheumatoid arthritis using MedicineInsight general practice data. Sydney: NPS MedicineWise 2022

Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety Monitoring using National Datasets

Organisation	University of Tasmania
Primary Investigator & Position	Dr Woldesellassie Bezabhe, Lecturer in Medication Safety
Funding Source	University of Tasmania
Description	In Australia, over a quarter of a million patients are admitted to hospitals every year due to medication-related issues, incurring costs of $1.4 billion. High-risk medications like opioids, taking too many medications at once and changes in care (e.g., from community to aged care) are key areas to focus on to reduce avoidable medication-related harm by half. However, there is not much data on how effectively the Australian programs reduce these harms. In this project, we will look at the MedicineInsight dataset from 2010 onwards on how medicines are used, including inappropriate use and associated harms. People aged 18 and older will be included in our analyses. The quality and safety of medicines use will be evaluated using national and international guidelines, quality indicators, and risk scores. This includes evaluating the use of high-risk medications (like opioids) and antipsychotics in vulnerable populations. This project also examines medication prescribing practice and its appropriateness before and after people enter residential care
Ethics Committee	Monash Health
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Population health and public policy projects

Enhancing Chronic Disease Screening for the Australian Population

Organisation: Australian National University

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will use NPS MedicineWise MedicineInsight data to ensure that updated absolute CVD risk algorithm and treatment guidelines are applicable for Australia, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and develop strategies to support high coverage of chronic disease risk assessment and follow-up.

MedicineInsight Quarterly DoH report – Severe mental illness and physical health

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will describe and compare the cohort of patients with severe mental illness to the general patient population without severe mental illness in terms of long-term health conditions, smoking and alcohol use.

Publication

Exploring the physical health of patients with severe or long-term mental illness using routinely collected general practice data from MedicineInsight

Belcher J, Myton R, Yoo J, Boville C & Chidwick K

HbA1c testing in MedicineInsight patients newly diagnosed, or with a history of diabetes

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

The aim of this study is to provide information on:

average general practice visits per year among patients with a recorded diagnosis of diabetes (all types).
the type and number of selected comorbidities commonly associated with diabetes (all types)
HbA1c testing undertaken in people with type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes
HbA1c testing performed around the period of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes
other relevant tests undertaken in people with type 2 diabetes (defined as urine ACR, eGFR and lipids testing)
HbA1c and OGTT test requests in women with gestational diabetes.

A cross-sectional description of the types and frequency of medical tests commonly requested by GPs during care of patients with selected chronic conditions or women who are pregnant

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

The purpose of this report is to describe the most common types of testing requested:

over a two-year period among patients with:
- chronic kidney disease (CKD)
- type 2 diabetes
- diagnosed coeliac disease
- or another selected chronic condition (as determined by the Department)
3 months prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy.

Vaccination coverage in the Australian general practice setting, using MedicineInsight data

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding Source: Pfizer

This project’s primary aim is to describe the overall annual vaccination coverage among people aged 10 years or older from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019, stratified by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, and vaccine funding status.

Publication

De Oliveira Costa, J, Gianacas, C, Beard F, Gonzalez-Chica D, Chidwick K, Osman R, MacIntyre CR, Havard A

Vaccination coverage in the Australian general practice setting, using MedicineInsight data

Date published: 17 June 2021

Validation of the MedicineInsight dataset: The accuracy of algorithms for identifying five serious health outcomes / adverse events in the MedicineInsight general practice database compared with hospital data and cause of death data in Australia

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This study will focus on validating five serious health outcomes in MedicineInsight, identified through consultation with the TGA as important potential adverse events requiring post-market monitoring and which are most likely to present to secondary care. We will compare the MedicineInsight algorithms for identifying myocardial infarction, stroke, venous thromboembolism, pancreatitis and suicide with information available in linked hospital admissions data and cause of death data from the death registry.

Publication

Havard A, Manski-Nankervis J, Thistlethwaite J, Daniels B, Myton R, Tu K, Chidwick K

Changes to preventative care, chronic disease monitoring, diagnosis and management activities in Australian general practice as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

This project aims to explore what changes in preventative care, chronic disease monitoring, diagnosis and management activities have occurred in Australian general practice as a consequence of social distancing, telehealth and the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically explored will be changes in:

screening for cancer (e.g. cervical cancer and colorectal cancer)
chronic disease management, with a focus on hypertension and diabetes (i.e. frequency of consultations, blood pressure and diabetes screening/diagnosis)
frequency of mental health issues (e.g. diagnosis of anxiety or insomnia/sleep problems) and
diagnosis and management of infectious respiratory diseases (e.g. influenza and influenza-like illness).

Publication

Skin checks and skin cancer diagnosis in Australian general practice before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2011–2020. Br J Dermatol 2021;185: 853-5

Roseleur J, Gonzalez-Chica D, Emery J, Stocks N

Trends in Dementia Diagnosis and Medication Use in Australian General Practice

Organisation: University of Tasmania
Funding source: University of Tasmania

This project aims to investigate the overall prevalence of diagnosed/documented dementia in general practice patients across Australia, while also observing patterns in prescribing of antidementia drugs and potentially inappropriate medication (e.g. psychotropic drugs, anticholinergic agents).

Publication

Ten-Year Trends in Psychotropic Prescribing and Polypharmacy in Australian General Practice Patients with and without Dementia
Bezabhe WM, Radford J, Salahudeen MS, Bindoff I, Ling T, Gee P, Wimmer BC, Peterson GM

Trends in renal function testing in patients with dementia: a repeated cross-sectional analysis in Australian general practice

Alhumaid S, Bezabhe WM, Williams M & Peterson GM

AURA 2021: Fourth Australian report on antimicrobial use and resistance in human health

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC)

The aim of the AURA surveillance system is to provide a comprehensive picture of antimicrobial use, resistance and the appropriateness of prescribing in Australia, across all healthcare settings. It incorporates data from a range of data sources and supports the implementation of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and the National Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Strategy –2020 and Beyond, to prevent and contain AMR. This data is used to inform the development of guidance and resources to support prevention and containment of AMR, along with data to support clinical decision-making.

Use of MedicineInsight to inform the DoH Future of Pathology

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project aims to explore whether there are observable differences in the timeliness of pathology services across different regions of Australia, whether any variation in timeliness is the result of delays between the time of requesting the tests and collection of the test specimen or delays between test collection and receipt of results. It will also explore variations in the number of tests requested per patient across Australia; and variations in the combinations of test requested per patient across Australia.

Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the Australian general practice population: a cross-sectional study

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

The aims of this study are to

estimate the prevalence of IBD (including Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and unspecified IBD) as well as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis separately.
assess the sociodemographic and environmental factors associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Publication

Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the Australian general practice population: A cross-sectional study

Busingye D , Pollack A, Chidwick K

Utilisation of denosumab and other medicines for the treatment of osteoporosis in general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This study will describe the prevalence of osteoporosis in general practice, assess the potential level of underdiagnosis and undertreatment , and review the utilisation of medicines for the treatment of osteoporosis including an assessment of patterns of denosumab use.

Publication

Denosumab for osteoporosis, October 2020

Clinical review, testing and management of renally cleared medicines among MedicineInsight patients with CKD in 2018–2019

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will explore information on the appropriateness of clinical review and pathology testing among people with CKD, categorised according to CKD stage and diabetes status, information on the sociodemographics and common comorbidities seen in people with CKD, and on the use of medicines and inappropriately high doses of renally cleared medicines

Clinical review, testing and management of renally cleared medicines among MedicineInsight patients with chronic kidney disease in 2018–2019

Date published: 2 November 2020

Exploration of sociodemographics, co-morbidities and medicines in MedicineInsight patients with heart failure (2018–2019)

Validation of the MedicineInsight dataset: completeness and generalisability

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This study aims to describe the completeness of a series of key indicators related to patient demographics, patient risk factors, condition recording, prescriptions, immunisations, pathology test results and billing data over time. It will document the representativeness of observations from the MedicineInsight dataset by comparing observed age, sex, socioeconomic status, geographical location and remoteness of patients in the MedicineInsight dataset with Australian national estimates, document the plausibility of observations from MedicineInsight by comparing observed chronic condition prevalence, medication utilisation and deaths with Australian national estimates, and assess the level of duplicate patients existing within the MedicineInsight data in a given year.

Validation of the MedicineInsight database: completeness, generalisability and plausibility

Date published: 14 December 2021

Validation of the MedicineInsight dataset: accuracy of diagnostic algorithms and the extraction and transformation of demographic, risk factor, medical history, prescription, and test information from the clinical information systems into the MedicineInsi

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This study aims to measure the accuracy of condition flags (i.e. MedicineInsight variables that indicate whether patients have the condition of interest) for two serious health outcomes, compared with a review of electronic health records held in the CIS. It will also compare the accuracy of the MedicineInsight condition flags when based on 1) coded diagnosis/medical history only; 2) coded and free text diagnosis/medical history only; 3) coded and free text diagnosis/medical history, reason for encounter and reason for prescription, and measure how accurately the two MedicineInsight extraction tools extract data from the two GP clinical information systems (which is then processed in the Data Warehouse) on patient demographics, risk factors, past medical history, medications and pathology tests, compared to the original data available within the CIS.

Publication

“Evaluating the accuracy of data extracted from electronic health records into MedicineInsight, a national Australian general practice database”

Daniels B. Havard A. Myton R. Lee C and Chidwick K

Validation of the MedicineInsight dataset: The accuracy of date of death recording in the MedicineInsight general practice database compared with the National Death Index in Australia

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

The proposed study aims to estimate the annual mortality rate for regularly attending MedicineInsight patients and compare this with the published mortality rates from the AIHW, and measure the accuracy of the MedicineInsight deceased indicator (i.e. derived MedicineInsight variable that indicates whether patients have a record of death) and the derived date of death, compared with national death registration data from the NDI.

The accuracy of death recording in the MedicineInsight data compared with the National Death Index in Australia

Date published: 14 June 2022

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

Influenza immunisation on reducing subsequent vascular disease

Organisation: The University of Sydney

Funding source: The University of Sydney

There is evidence suggesting influenza immunisation is an independent protective factor for developing cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease. This project aims to determine the impact influenza immunisation has on reducing subsequent transient ischaemic attack, stroke or acute myocardial infarction.

Herpes Zoster Immunisation on reducing subsequent vascular disease

Organisation: The University of Sydney

Funding source: The University of Sydney

There is evidence suggesting Herpes Zoster is an independent risk factor for developing cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease. The live herpes zoster vaccine has been shown to reduce the incidence and severity of herpes zoster. This project aims to determine the impact immunisation with the live Herpes Zoster vaccine has had on reducing subsequent transient ischaemic attack, stroke or acute myocardial infarction.

Impact of the 2019/20 bushfires on Australia’s health

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will deliver a comparative analysis of the incidence and prevalence of physical and mental conditions before and after the 2019-20 bushfire period, and patient GP encounter rates with regard to conditions of interest (including heart attacks, stroke, asthma, COPD, URTI and other respiratory conditions, lung cancer, diabetes, septicaemia, fluid and electrolyte disorders, urinary tract infections, acute renal failure, anxiety, depression and PTSD). Analyses will be by age groups, gender, location, remoteness and socioeconomic status.

General Practice Insights Report

For the past three years, the General Practice Insights Reports (commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health) have provided an overview of the care provided in general practice.

This year’s report looks at the deidentified data of around 2.9 million patients, to explore who they are, why they visit their GPs, and aspects of the clinical management they receive. As in previous years, it shows that chronic illnesses are commonly managed by GPs.

This year, for the first time, the report provides information on the patient prevalence of certain childhood illnesses, dementia and serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

We hope that these documents provide patients, GPs, policymakers and researchers with an accurate picture of the enormous amount of work undertaken in primary care.

General Practice Insights Report 2018-19

2019

Publication, report or update

General Practice Insights Report 2016-17

2017

Publication, report or update

Describing the epidemiology and management of eczema (atopic dermatitis) in general practice using MedicineInsight data

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Pfizer

NPS MedicineWise is preparing a longitudinal descriptive study investigating eczema in Australian general practice using MedicineInsight data.

Publication

Prevalence, incidence and management of atopic dermatitis in Australian general practice using routinely collected data from MedicineInsight

Chidwick K, Busingye D, Pollack A, Osman R, Yoo J, Blogg S, Rubel D, Smith S

Severe mental illness and health seeking behaviour

Identification of Frailty in an Australian general practice database using the electronic Frailty Index: an exploratory Study

Primary Health Network (PHN) Needs Assessment

Organisation: Curtin University

Funding source: Western Australia Primary Health Alliance

The population planning project, commissioned by the Western Australia Primary Health Alliance, aims to estimate the need, supply and cost of health services in Western Australia. MedicineInsight data usage looks at demand and utilisation of health services across general practices in the state, and identifies key priority areas and options for addressing population health needs. The results will help to identify potential areas for investment and development, and to design new services.

Does continuity of primary care reduce demand on emergency department presentations and hospital admissions?

Organisation: Curtin University

Funding source: National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Grant

The primary aim of this project is to evaluate the influence of patterns of primary care contact on emergency departments visits and hospital admissions. MedicineInsight data is used for evaluating the role of primary care in improving health and preventing progression of disease and hospitalisation.

Publication

Using general practice clinical information system data for research: the case in Australia

Youens, D, Moorin, R, Harrison, A, Varhol, R, Robinson, S, Brooks, C, and Boyd, J

Improving influenza and influenza like illness surveillance

Epidemic thunderstorm asthma analysis in general practice setting

Organisation: Department of Health and Human Services Victoria

Funding source: Department of Health and Human Services Victoria

This study aims to describe the impact of past epidemic thunderstorm asthma events on the populations attending general practices. MedicineInsight data will be used to assess health care seeking behaviours and patient management, and input into epidemic thunderstorm asthma forecasting models. The data will also be used to assess the Thunderstorm Asthma Program that followed the epidemic thunderstorm asthma event in Victoria in November 2016.

Improving outcomes with better use of blood pressure and other cardiovascular medicines

Creating a Tasmanian Diabetes Atlas

AusVaxSafety: national vaccine safety surveillance and signal detection

Organisation: National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project uses MedicineInsight data to monitor vaccine safety which is a key priority for the Australian Government. The results of the analysis will be incorporated to the government-funded active vaccines safety surveillance program (AusVaxSafety). The use of MedicineInsight data will support surveillance (pharmacovigilance), policy development and program implementation in the area of vaccine safety.

Publication

Safety of live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine in adults 70–79 years: A self-controlled case series analysis using primary care data from Australia’s MedicineInsight program

Totterdell J, Phillips A, Glover C, Chidwick K, Marsh J, Snelling T, Macartney K

Demonstrating capability of linking MedicineInsight with MBS/PBS data

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

The primary purpose of this project is to demonstrate the technical capability for de-identified MedicineInsight data to be linked successfully to MBS/PBS data.

It will explore data linkage methods/tools and identify a preferred technical solution conducting a proof of concept to demonstrate this capability. The project will outline privacy and data governance considerations, and mitigations/controls.

Study to describe the prevalence and characterisation of aortic stenosis in Australian general practice

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Medtronic

This project is examining MedicineInsight data to provide preliminary understanding of prevalence of aortic stenosis in primary care and specific population characteristics, including those used to guide clinical management.

Project outcome report

Feasibility study to describe the prevalence and characterisation of aortic stenosis in Australian general practice

nKPI reporting

Preventing obesity in childhood and adolescence: weight and height screening in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

This project aims to research if children's and adolescents' weight and height are being measured during medical consultations in Australian general practices. MedicineInsight data provides an overview of the current situation in Australia that may allow improving clinical practice activities, and nutritional status in children and adolescents.

Cardiovascular disease in adults: primary and secondary prevention in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

The primary aim of this project is to evaluate if strategies for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases are incorporated among regular activities performed by general practitioners during consultations. MedicineInsight data analysis provides information that can potentially improve clinical practice, health professionals’ training and management of cardiovascular diseases.

Publications

Blood pressure control in Australian general practice: analysis using general practice records of 1.2 million patients from the MedicineInsight database. J Hypertens 2021;39:1134-42

Roseleur J, Gonzalez-Chica DA, Bernardo CO et al.

Predicted cardiovascular disease risk and prescribing of antihypertensive therapy among patients with hypertension in Australia using MedicineInsight

Roseleur J, Gonzalez-Chica DA, Karnon J & Stocks NP

Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis and Screening in Australian General Practice: A National Study

Zheng M, De Oliveira Bernardo C, Stocks N, Gonzalez-Chica D

The Cost of Uncontrolled Blood Pressure in Australian General Practice: A Modelling Study Using Electronic Health Records (MedicineInsight)

Roseleur J, Gonzalez-Chica DA, Harvey G,Stocks NP, Karnon J

Influenza-like illness surveillance and influenza vaccine effectiveness estimation using NPS MedicineWise data: A pilot project

Organisation: University of Adelaide

Funding source: University of Adelaide

This project is aiming to explore if MedicineInsight data could be used to undertake influenza surveillance, in particular vaccine effectiveness in Australian general practices. The benefits of using MedicineInsight data for influenza surveillance include more reliable indicators, and more efficient development of influenza vaccination plans that ultimately will contribute to the improvement of public health.

Publications

Influenza-like illness and antimicrobial prescribing in Australian general practice from 2015 to 2017: a national longitudinal study using the MedicineInsight dataset BMJ Open 2019;9:e026396

Bernardo CDO, Gonzalez-Chica D, Stocks N

Influenza immunisation coverage from 2015 to 2017: A national study of adult patients from Australian general practice. Vaccine 2019

De Oliveira Bernardo C, González-Chica DA, Chilver M, Stocks N

Impact of funding influenza vaccination on coverage among Australian children: a national study using MedicineInsight, a large general practice database

De Oliveira Bernardo C, González-Chica DA, Stocks N

Influenza-like illness in Australia: A comparison of general practice surveillance system with electronic medical records

De Oliveira Bernardo C, González-Chica DA, Chilver M, Stocks N

Using MedicineInsight data for surveillance of Adverse Events Following Immunisation

General practice visits for infectious diseases in Australia

Organisation: University of New South Wales

Funding source: University of New South Wales

The primary aim of this project is to estimate the impact of infectious diseases in general practice settings, and the healthcare resource use and cost linked to these visits. MedicineInsight data is used to evaluate prevention strategies to implement and improve programs such as vaccination initiatives in Australia.

Meteorological conditions driving pollen movement and its impact on GP presentations forasthma and rhinitis.

Potential of MedicineInsight to evaluate the National Immunisation Program

Organisation: University of New South Wales

Funding source: University of New South Wales

This project will assess the potential for MedicineInsight to be used to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of the National Immunisation Program, including the ability to monitor the burden of vaccine preventable diseases and the impact and effectiveness of vaccines such as influenza, pneumococcal and herpes zoster.

Publications

Impact of a structured older persons health assessment on herpes zoster vaccine uptake in Australian primary care

Lin J, Dobbins T, Wood JG, Hall JJ, Liu B

Impact of a national immunisation program on herpes zoster incidence in Australia

Lin J, Dobbins T, Wood JG, Bernardo C, Stocks NP, Liu B

Evaluation of vaccination coverage data for population subgroups

Organisation: University of New South Wales

Funding source: University of New South Wales

The primary aim of this project is to assess the suitability of using MedicineInsight data for providing vaccination coverage estimates in particular for subgroups for whom vaccines are funded under the National Immunisation Program. MedicineInsight data is used for estimating influenza vaccination coverage in medically at risk and elderly Australian adults.

Publication

Using general practice data to monitor influenza vaccination coverage in the medically at risk: a data linkage study. BMJ Open 2019;9:e031802

Badmus D, Menzies R

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) prevalence and management in people with type 2 diabetes in Australian general practice

Organisation: University of Melbourne

Funding source: University of Melbourne

This project uses MedicineInsight data to consider whether there are currently any gaps in the screening and recording of CKD and appropriate prescribing of antihyperglycaemic and cardiovascular medications in general practice and, if so, make recommendations for how these gaps can be addressed in order to optimise the care provided in general practice for this important population by developing interventions to reduce inappropriate prescribing in renal impairment and educating patients on self-management strategies to complement best practice management.

Publications

Prescribing of diabetes medications to people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: A national cross-sectional study 11 Medical and Health Sciences 1103 Clinical Sciences 11 Medical and Health Sciences 1117 Public Health and Health ServicesBMC Family Practice, Volume 20, 2019

Manski-Nankervis J.-A., Thuraisingam S., Sluggett J.K., Kilov G., Furler J., O'Neal D., Jenkins A.

(2018) Screening and diagnosis of chronic kidney disease in people with type 2 diabetes attending general practice Australian Journal of Primary Health 24(3): 280-286

Manski-Nankervis J, Thuraisingam S, Phyllis Lau, Irene Blackberry, Janet Sluggett, Jenni Ilomaki, Simon Bell and John Furler

Prescribing of diabetes medications in patients with type 2 diabetes and renal impairment in Australia

Organisation: University of Melbourne

Funding source: Boehringer Ingelheim/ Eli Lilly

This project uses MedicineInsight data to explore the issue of prescription of medicines for people with type 2 diabetes and renal impairment. The analysis of the data will show whether the non-insulin diabetes medications are appropriately prescribed in general practices in Australia.

Publication

Prescribing of diabetes medications to people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: a national cross-sectional study

Manski-Nankervis J, Thuraisingam S, Sluggett JK, Kilov G, Furler J, O’Neal D, Jenkins A

Unifying and quality assuring disparate GP datasets in MedicineInsight with a common data model

Organisation: UNSW

Funding source: Cash funding is from the NHMRC with some cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations (NHMRC, UNSW, NPS MedicineWise, GP Synergy, Central & Eastern Sydney PHN and South West Sydney LHD).

The two key aims of this project are: i) to develop methodology and tools to enable application of and maintenance of the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership - Common Data Model (OMPO-CDM) in MedicineInsight, and ii) to increase robustness of methods and fitness-for-purpose of MedicineInsight data for use by stakeholders for a range of uses from general practice services to population health.

Clinical characterization of cancer and non-cancer pain patients on opioid treatment in primary care

Organisation: UNSW

Funding source: Cash funding is from the NHMRC with some cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations (NHMRC, UNSW, NPS MedicineWise, GP Synergy, Central & Eastern Sydney PHN and South West Sydney LHD).

This study is an observational clinical characterisation study based on real-world data collected from primary care electronic health record (EHR), before and after being mapped to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM). The key objective of this study is to characterize opioid use in primary care, using quality-assured real-world Electronic Health Record data.

Trends in the mental health related presentations to General Practices, hospital inpatient admissions, and Emergency Department attendances among children and adolescents in Australia between 2012 and 2021

Organisation: UNSW
Funding source: Cash funding is from the NHMRC with some cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations (NHMRC, UNSW, NPS MedicineWise, GP Synergy, Central & Eastern Sydney PHN and South West Sydney LHD).

This study is one of the use cases of the overarching project application titled ‘Unifying and quality assuring disparate GP datasets in MedicineInsight with a common data model’. The key objective of this study is to determine the trends in mental health related presentations in children and adolescents to general practices over the past 10 years (2012-21).

Publication

A nationwide study of COVID-19 impact on mental health-related presentations among children and adolescents to primary care practices in Australia
John JR, Khan JR, Lin P, Jonnagaddala J, Hu N, Belcher J, Liaw ST, Lingam R, Eapen V

Investigating selected COVID-19 vaccine adverse events using MedicineInsight

Organisation	NPS MedicineWise
Primary Investigator & Position	Sarah Ahmed, Epidemiologist
Funding Source	Australian Government Department of Health
Description	This retrospective cross-sectional study describes the prevalence and management of selected adverse events from COVID-19 immunisation, as recorded in the MedicineInsight dataset, to inform continued monitoring and messaging around these adverse events. Findings will be used to inform the TGA (and other relevant parties) about the prevalence and management of selected adverse events within the primary care space. Comparison to pre-COVID-19 vaccine periods allow for confirmation of a signal for these adverse events, and outlining potential predictive factors related to these events enables appropriate management and messaging to health professionals and the public.
Ethics Committee	RACGP NREEC – MedicineInsight Ethics Approval
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 09 February 2022
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia (AURA) – reporting on community antimicrobial use 2020– 2023

Organisation	Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
Primary Investigator & Position	Kathy Meleady
Funding Source	Australian Government Department of Health
Description	The AURA Surveillance System reports on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the volume and appropriateness of antimicrobial use (AU) in Australian hospitals, aged care homes and the community. Improving the appropriateness of antimicrobial prescribing in the community is a focus area for the Commission so as to improve antimicrobial prescribing and use and enhance safety and quality of care. The inclusion of NPS MedicineWise MedicineInsight data in these national reports helps to inform strategies to improve antimicrobial prescribing and use and support the prevention and containment of AMR. It adds to the comprehensive data from various sectors of human health in Australia. Describing patterns of antimicrobial prescribing over time is also a valuable strategy to more specifically target improved prescribing practices and as a result, health outcomes for the Australian population.
Ethics Committee	Report considered exempt from ethics review
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Conditional Approval – 13 April 2022
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Epidemic intelligence for acute respiratory infections using a general practice database (Common Data Model)

Organisation	University of New South Wales (UNSW)
Primary Investigator & Position	David Muscatello
Funding Source	Partnership Grant – NHMRC, UNSW, NPS MedicineWise, GP Synergy, Central & Eastern Sydney PHN and South West Sydney LHD
Description	This project will examine how information from general practice (GP) information systems can be used to provide rapid intelligence on whether the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) is increasing, the impact of those infections on the healthcare system and the effectiveness of control measures such as vaccines. The MedicineInsight database will be used to look at daily or weekly trends in general practice data to determine whether the data can be used to provide early warning of increases in epidemic activity. To achieve this, data will be compared with more specific information on epidemic activity available from independent sources. The same information will be used to estimate the contribution of influenza and COVID-19 on GP services. Findings of this study will provide an insight into how GP information systems can contribute to the surveillance and control of acute respiratory infection epidemics and pandemic.
Ethics Committee	UNSW Sydney HREC
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 13 April 2022
Amendments	0
Publication	Uptake of pneumococcal vaccines in older Australian adults before and after universal public funding of PCV13 Hossain FB, Muscatello D, Jayasinghe S, Jonnagaddala J, Liu B

Improvement in population health

Improving Australian national diabetes estimates

Organisation	Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Primary Investigator & Position	Miriam Lum on, Unit Head, Cardiovascular Diabetes and Kidney Unit
Funding Source	Australian Government Department of Health
Description	This research project aims to identify markers of diabetes status in patients within MedicineInsight using prescriptions for diabetes related medicines and use of health services used to specifically treat and manage diabetes. These markers will be used to identify people with diabetes in national administrative data collections (such as the NDSS, PBS and MBS) and improve the data available to regularly monitor the disease at the national level. The objectives of the project will be to assess the performance of different algorithms to define diabetes status based on medicines and health services against a the diabetes cohort identified in MedicineInsight as the gold standard ‘accurate’ marker for diabetes, using statistical classification measures including sensitivity, positive predictive value and F1 score
Ethics Committee	AIHW Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 8 April 2020
Amendments	0
Publication	Validating diabetes case definition algorithms using primary health care data

Epidemic intelligence for acute respiratory infections using a general practice database

Organisation	UNSW Sydney, School of Population Health, Faculty of Medicine
Primary Investigator & Position	David Muscatello, Associate Professor
Funding Source	This project is being funded by a partnership of NHMRC, UNSW, NPS MedicineWise, GP Synergy, Central & Eastern Sydney PHN and South West Sydney LHD. Most of the cash funding is from the NHMRC with some cash and in-kind contributions from partner organisations.
Description	This project will examine how information from general practice (GP) information systems can be used to provide rapid intelligence on whether the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI) is increasing, the impact of those infections on the healthcare system and the effectiveness of control measures such as vaccines. We will use the MedicineInsight database to look at daily or weekly trends in general practice data to determine whether the data can be used to provide early warning of increases in epidemic activity. To achieve this, these data will be compared with more specific information on epidemic activity available from independent sources. The same information will be used to estimate the contribution of influenza and COVID-19 on GP services. Other information from the database will be assessed for whether it can provide useful, ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of vaccines used to control influenza and COVID-19
Ethics Committee	UNSW Sydney HREC
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 13 April 2022
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Effectiveness of vaccines to prevent antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in high risk adults

Project title	Effectiveness of vaccines to prevent antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory tract infections in high risk adults
Organisation	School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales
Primary Investigator & Position	Bette Liu , Associate Professor
Funding Source	Wellcome Trust
Description	This project will use MedicineInsight data to quantify the effectiveness of vaccines for common respiratory pathogens (influenza, pertussis, pneumococcal) against primary care presentations for acute respiratory tract infections, and antibiotic prescribing in older adults according to age and co-morbidities (asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). The research will identify in what adult sub-groups vaccination would be most effective in reducing antibiotic prescribing and use this data to model the benefits of increasing vaccine uptake in these high risk adult groups on reductions in antibiotic use.
Ethics Committee	Human Research Ethics Advisory (HREA) Panel G: Health, Medical, Community, and Social. The University of New South Wales
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 8 April 2020
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

Wastewater Surveillance & MedicineInsight estimates of antibiotics used in the general community of Sydney

Organisation	UNSW Sydney
Primary Investigator & Position	Mary-Louise McLaws, Professor Epidemiology, Healthcare Infection and Infectious Diseases Control
Funding Source	UNSW
Description	The MedicineInsight prescribing data by SA3 locators can be aggregated to match UNSW’s surveillance of 25 wastewater treatment plants to examine the difference between excrete antibiotics and prescription data.
Ethics Committee	UNSW Human Research Ethics
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Conditional Approval – 7 October 2020
Amendments	Originally approved as a new Data Extract; Amended in June 2021 to allow the utilisation of existing UNSW Random Sample data extract from 2018
Publication	TBA

Establishing patterns of primary health care usage in cancer at end of life

Organisation	University of Melbourne
Primary Investigator & Position	Jon Emery, Herman Chair of Primary Care Cancer Research
Funding Source	St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation/Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Description	This project aims to explore primary care health service usage for cancer patients in the last six months of life using the VCCC linked dataset. Specific aims are: To quantify usage of primary care services in cancer in the last six months of life, at monthly time-points To identify patterns of care of primary care at the end of life, use of health services provision and medications To identify associations between usage of primary care services and clinical factors and indicators of quality end of life care (IQEOLC) including: Place of death Age, remoteness, socioeconomic group Cancer type Comorbidity burden
Ethics Committee	St. Vincent’s Hospital HREC
Data Linkage Study	Yes Hospital admitted, emergency and non-admitted datasets (Royal Melbourne Hospital, Western Health) AIHW National Death Index
Committee Assessment	Approved – 10 June 2020
Amendments	0
Publication	Primary care usage at the end of life: a retrospective cohort study of cancer patients using linked primary and hospital care data Grant M, McCarthy D, Kearney C, Collins A, Sundararajan V, Rhee J, Philip J, Emery J General practice utilisation by Australian cancer patients in the last year of life Grant MP, McCarthy D, Kearney C, Collins A, Sundararajan V, Rhee JJ, Philip JAM, Emery JD

A national risk-stratified melanoma screening program in Australia: a modelling study of the benefits, harms, cost-effectiveness and resource implications

Organisation	University of Sydney
Primary Investigator & Position	Anne Cust, Principal Research Fellow and NHMRC Career Development Fellow Sydney School of Public Health
Funding Source	National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) project grant APP1165936
Description	Led by an experienced multidisciplinary team, this project will conduct a modelling study of the benefits, harms, cost-effectiveness and resource implications of a national risk-stratified melanoma screening program in Australia, using a Victorian patient cohort. Few modelling studies of melanoma screening have been conducted. Most were published over 10 years ago and are less relevant to contemporary diagnostic tools, stage at diagnosis, melanoma treatments and the Australian healthcare context.
Ethics Committee	Melbourne Health HREC
Data Linkage Study	Yes Victorian hospital data (admitted, emergency, non-admitted) Clinical registry or population registry data where available AIHW National Death Index
Committee Assessment	Approved – 12 August 2020
Amendments	0
Publication	Diagnostic biopsies of suspected skin cancer in general practice from 2010 to 2017 in Victoria, Australia So C, McCarthy D, Watts CG, Kearney C, Reyes-Marcelino G, Goldsbury DE, McLoughlin K, Emery J, Cust AE

Health system integration using data linkage

Organisation	Curtin University, School of Public Health
Primary Investigator & Position	Suzanne Robinson, Research Associate
Funding Source	Western Australian Health Translation Network (WAHTN) [NHMRC’s MRFF grant] Western Australian Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) [Industry partner] Curtin University [Academic partner]
Description	This study is a proof of concept which will integrate routinely collected general practice information with hospital data, both of which are integral to a patient’s complete medical record. Clinical datasets from participating general practices, also referred to as primary care data, will be anonymously linked with secondary care data obtained from Western Australia’s public hospitals; with the aim of exploring patient management and service utilisation related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes and heart failure. The linked datasets will be assessed for their applicability to manage patients clinically and to identify patterns and trends within the system associated with Potentially Preventable Hospitalisations (certain hospital admissions that potentially could have been prevented by timely and adequate health care in the community1), which is in-line with Australia’s National health priorities.
Ethics Committee	Curtin University Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	Yes WA Department of Health: Emergency Department Data Collection (from Jan 2010 – to latest available) WA Department of Health: Hospital Morbidity Data Collection (from Jan 2010 – latest available) WA Department of Health: Mortality Data – Coded fields (Australian Coordinating Registry) (from Jan 2010 – latest available)
Committee Assessment	Approved – 7 October 2020
Amendments	Amended in June 2021 to include in the dataset patients in WA practices with no recorded postcode
Publication	Estimating the cost of chronic kidney disease in Australia Randall S, Lee CMY, Thomas E, Chakera A, Chai KEK, Varhol R, Mehta K, Irish A, Conradie J, Hadlow N, Hendrie D, H. Boyd J & Robinson S

Estimating background population rates of thromboses and other disorders to inform vaccine programs

Organisation	School of Population Health UNSW
Primary Investigator & Position	Bette Liu, Associate Professor
Funding Source	UNSW
Description	This project aims to use the MedicineInsight data to estimate background rates of some conditions such as blood clots and other disorders in the population prior to the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines. The rates derived from the MedicineInsight data will then be compared to rates following COVID-19 vaccination estimated from other national and international data sources to determine if there is a potential excess of these events following COVID-19 vaccination.
Ethics Committee	UNSW HREC
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – July 2021
Amendments	0
Publication	TBA

STI testing and treatment in primary care

Organisation	The Kirby Institute
Primary Investigator & Position	Tanya Applegate, Senior Lecturer, Surveillance and Evaluation Research Program
Funding Source	Blood Borne Viruses, Sexually Transmissible Infections, and Torres Strait Islander Health Policy Section, Office of Health Protection, Health Protection Policy Branch
Description	Project aims: to assess patterns of STI treatment focussing on gonorrhoea, chlamydia, Mycoplasma genitalium and syphilis, compared to Australian STI management guidelines, and factors associated with non-adherence to guidelines; to assess patterns of STI testing focussing on completeness of testing in priority populations including patients diagnosed with STIs, young people, pregnant women, people on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and people living with HIV; to assess additional clinic visits, tests, PBS and non-PBS prescriptions for STIs due to adherence to Australian STI management guidelines; to assess the utility of the data for public health surveillance
Ethics Committee	UNSW Human Research Ethics Committee
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – 9 June 2021. Amendment conditionally approved 10 August 2022
Amendments	Amended to expand the study period, include ART in treatment field, assess patterns of Hepatitis B testing in pregnant women, and assess STI testing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Publication	TBA

Factors influencing geospatial disparities in colorectal cancer screening participation through the general practices

Organisation	Flinders University
Primary Investigator & Position	Melkalem Azanaw (PhD student)
Funding Source	Flinders University
Description	Colorectal cancer (also known as bowel cancer) is one of the most common cancers in Australia but can be treated successfully if the cancer is detected early. Early detection can be achieved by cancer screening with home stool tests. The National Bowel Cancer Screening program provides these tests to individuals from ages 50 to 74 years, but only 40% of people participate in the program. Within this program it has been shown that screening participation can be influenced by the location that people live, with people in remote and rural areas less likely to take part in bowel cancer screening. It is possible that these individuals are more likely to take part in screening if it is offered through their general practice (GP), but this has not previously been investigated. Therefore, the aim of this study is to use the MedicineInsight data to explore bowel cancer screening participation through the GPs in different regions of Australia. This will involve analysing data for geographical variations in bowel cancer screening uptake from 2019 to 2021. This project will provide the data to ensure efficient, equitable, and appropriate implementation across different geographical locations.
Ethics Committee	TBC
Data Linkage Study	No
Committee Assessment	Approved – Out of session June 2025
Amendments	Nil
Publication	TBA

Other projects

Health economics and epidemiology of myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome

Organisation: University of Tasmania

Funding source: Medical Research Future Fund

This study will estimate the prevalence of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) in Australian primary care patients. The only data on prevalence for Australia, was published in 1998 and was based on a population in regional New South Wales, using broad diagnostic criteria that are no longer valid.

Developing data linkage capability within the MedicineInsight dataset

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

This project will demonstrate whether it’s possible to create unified data linkage keys across MedicineInsight records. It will explore linkage methods/tools, particularly the use of ‘bloom filters’ which are emerging as the preferred technical solution for record linkage to MBS/PBS and other national datasets.

Comparison of free-text in reason for encounter fields in GP electronic health records with SNOMED CT terms

Quality investigation into MedicineInsight data: improving interpretation of MedicineInsight data

Organisation: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project aims to understand and make other users aware of the uses and limitations of MedicineInsight data; and to collaboratively work on an enduring document that will provide researchers, general practitioners and policy makers with information to help them make the best use of MedicineInsight data to facilitate improved health outcomes in Australia.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data evaluation project

Linkage of the MedicineInsight general practice data set with the Victorian Linkage Map (VLM)

Organisation: Centre for Victorian Data Linkage

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This feasibility assessment is looking at the potential of linking MedicineInsight data to the Victorian Linkage Map.

Evaluation of the Health Care Homes program

Organisation: Health Policy Analysis
Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

Health Care Homes (HCH) is a new model of primary care where practices receive a periodic bundled payment to provide ongoing chronic disease-related care to patients. MedicineInsight data will be used to support the evaluation of HCH by the independent evaluators. Data from consenting general practices participating in HCH will be shared with the evaluators, as well as de-identified data from non-participating general practices for the purpose of defining a comparator cohort.

Publications

The Australian Health Care Homes trial: quality of care and patient outcomes. A propensity score‐matched cohort study
Duong TT, Falster MO, Pearse J, Mazevska D, McElduff P, Pearson S, Van Gool KC, Hall J, Jorm L.

Enriching MedicineInsight data with social determinants of health

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

This project aims to enrich MedicineInsight data with social research data which would provide holistic consumer behaviours and views, and enable the delivery of more targeted public health campaigns to a more specific audience. The first phase of this project which has been approved is assessing the technical feasibility and utility of enriching MedicineInsight data with social research data.

MedicineInsight report on general practice activity in Australia 2015–2016

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project uses MedicineInsight data to generate a report describing patient’s management including number of encounters and prescriptions for common conditions such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and depression. The representative of MedicineInsight data is compared with other data sources such as Australian Medical Publishing Company, General Practice Workforce Statistics, MBS statistics, among other national data sources.

Diagnosed conditions for prescribing tiotropium

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise

Funding source: Boehringer Ingelheim

This project used MedicineInsight data to generate a report showing evidence on diagnosed conditions for prescribing tiotropium (a PBS-listed medicine). The report will be submitted by the funder, as the sponsor of the medicine, to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) to provide evidence- based information about the medicine to support PBAC decision making.

Feasibility of MedicineInsight data to support clinical trials in Australian general practice

Effective Quality Incentive Payments in General Practice (EQuIP-GP)

Organisation: University of Wollongong

Funding source: Royal Australian College of General Practitioners

The EQUiP-GP study investigates the impact of an alternate, outcomes based funding model that provides incentives linked to the continuous quality improvement of primary care provision by general practitioners. MedicineInsight data from consenting practices participating in the study will be analysed for pre- and post-intervention measures by a collaborative project team from University of Wollongong, University of Tasmania and Monash University.

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Quality Use of Medicines