About the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics

Here you can find relevant information about the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics.

Who owns the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics?

The Danish State Serum Institute owns and is responsible for the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics.

When and why was the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics established?

In May 1993, it was decided by statute (Act no. 280 of 6 May 1993 on amendment of the Danish Medicines Act etc. (*1) (advertising etc.)) to establish the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics due to a desire for a publicly run register of medicinal product statistics. The register was established with a view to drafting of statistics and price indexes as well as to monitor the consumption of medicinal products. This information was intended to form the basis for strengthening the basis for decision of the central health authorities.

Over the years, a number of legislative changes have occurred and therefore the information in the register can be used for a wider range of purposes (Executive order no. 33 of 19 January 2000 on the passing of information from the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics at the Danish State Serum Institute) and more information can be published.

As regards passing of information about individual medicine users, the legislation remains unchanged. The consumption of medicine can only be followed for individual anonymous patients, as personal identification numbers (CPR numbers) are encrypted. Information that can be traced back to individuals must not be passed on (Act no. 429 of 31 May 2000 on the handling of personal data).

The Register of Medicinal Product Statistics is unique on a global scale, as it is the only register about consumption of medicinal products which covers the entire population of a country over so many years. 

What does the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics contain?

The Register of Medicinal Product Statistics contains information about the total sales of medicinal products in Denmark since 1994.

Danish pharmacies, hospital pharmacies (since 1997), the Danish State Serum Institute and the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research report information to the register every month. Since October 2001, grocery stores selling medicinal products not reserved for sale at pharmacies have reported their monthly sales to the register.

The Danish State Serum Institutere receives around 8 million reports a month, which is around 96 million reports a year.

Around 30 different items of information are registered every time a medicinal product is sold on prescription. Apart from identification of the medicine user, some of the most important information registered is the identification code of the prescriber, information about the individual packet of medicine handed out at a pharmacy, time and place of sale, the doctor's recommendations regarding substitution, reiteration number on the prescription, price, reimbursement and reimbursement schemes.

In over-the-counter sales, the information reported only concerns the individual packet of medicine and the number of packets sold.

Hospitals register their consumption of medicine under ward codes and not under patients' CPR numbers.

A complete list of the information can be found under the heading "What variables can be found in the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics?". Further information can be found in executive order no. 269 of 21 March 2007 about "Indberetning af oplysninger til lægemiddelstatistik" (Reporting of information for medicinal product statistics).  

What variables can be found in the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics?

Under executive order no. 269 on reporting of information for medicinal product statistics of 21 March 2007, the information listed in table 1 must be reported to the register every month.

Table 1. Information reported to the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics

Moreover, specific information from the the Danish State Serum Institute's Price List of Proprietary Medicinal Products is incorporated into the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics. The Price List contains all of the Danish State Serum Institute's central information about medicinal products on the Danish market.

Table 2 shows the information most frequently incorporated into the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics.

Table 2. Information from the Danish State Serum Institute's Price List of Proprietary Medicinal Products incorporated into the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics

Who has access to the register?

The Danish Ministry for Health and Prevention and other authorities within the same field can obtain analyses and statistics. County consultants working to promote rational use of medicinal products may also order specifications from the register. In general, doctors can access the register, whereas patients have access under special circumstances.

Scientists have access to the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics via the medicinal product database at the website of Statistics Denmark www.dst.dk. Every year, the Danish State Serum Institute transfers information about the sale of prescription-only medicinal products from the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics to Statistics Denmark. The CPR numbers of the medicine users are decrypted at the transfer.

Hereby, the information can be used together with other registers at Statistics Denmark or the scientists' own registers. However, scientists only have access to data not revealing the identity of persons. Apart from CPR numbers, the medicinal product database contains information such as pack size and price of medicinal products.

Other people can get access to information in the Register of Medicinal Product Statistics via material published by the Danish State Serum Institute.

What statistics and analyses can be found in the register?

The Danish State Serum Institute draws up a number of different statistics and consumption analyses.