Approved projects using MedicineInsight data

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).

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.

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.

Organisation: Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute
Funding Source: Amgen Australia

The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute will investigate trends in cholesterol levels in adult Australians attending General Practice over the last 5 years, examining trends in lipid levels, particularly LDL-cholesterol, and treatment patterns in higher risk patients attending primary care.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding Source: WA Primary Health Alliance

MedicineInsight data will be analysed to determine the prevalence, testing, diagnosis and management of iron deficiency in general practice, with the findings incorporated into an Educational Visit Workshop for health professionals in WA.

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.

Organisation: National Heart Foundation
Funding source: National Heart Foundation

This project aims to use MedicineInsight data to reduce the prevalence and impact of risk factors by increasing the number of Australians who have regular heart health checks to reduce their risk of heart disease.

Organisation: University of Sydney
Funding source: National Health and Medical Research Council and University of Sydney

This project is using MedicineInsight dataset to investigate the diagnosis and prescribing patterns for dementia and the subtypes of dementia within Australian general practice.

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.

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

Publication: Woldesellassie M. Bezabhe, Luke R. Bereznicki, Jan Radford, Barbara C. Wimmer, Mohammed S. Salahudeen, Ivan Bindoff, Edward Garrahy, 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

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

Organisation: National Heart Foundation
Funding source: National Heart Foundation

The National Heart Foundation is using MedicineInsight to inform the overall rate of absolute CVD risk recording (using the clinical information system (CIS) in-built CV risk calculators) in General Practice for people aged 45-75 years.

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.

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

Organisation: National Heart Foundation
Funding source: National Heart Foundation

This project aims to use MedicineInsight data to reduce the prevalence and impact of risk factors by increasing the number of Australians who have regular heart health checks to reduce their risk of heart disease.

Organisation: National Heart Foundation
Funding source: National Heart Foundation

The National Heart Foundation is using MedicineInsight to inform the overall rate of absolute CVD risk recording (using the clinical information system (CIS) in-built CV risk calculators) in General Practice for people aged 45–75 years.

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: Chidwick K, Kiss D, Gray R, Yoo J, Aufgang M, Zekry A. Heron JE, Norman SM, Yoo J, et al. The prevalence and risk of non-infectious comorbidities in HIV-infected and non-HIV infected men attending general practice in Australia. PLOS One 2019;14:e0223224

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.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Gilead Sciences Pty Ltd

This project will deliver medical education as a quality improvement intervention to 200 general practices (most of whom participate in MedicineInsight) to support general practitioners in managing their Chronic Hepatitis C patients.

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.

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

The aim of this project is to evaluate a 2017 quality improvement intervention for general practices and sexual health clinics that treat patients with hepatitis C.

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: Naik-Panvelkar P, Norman S, Elgebaly Z, Elliott J, Pollack A, Thistlethwaite J, Weston C & Seibel MJ. Osteoporosis management in Australian general practice: an analysis of current osteoporosis treatment patterns and gaps in 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

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.

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 report

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: Chidwick K, Kiss D, Gray R, Yoo J, Aufgang M, Zekry A. Insights into the management of chronic hepatitis C in primary care using MedicineInsight. Aust J Gen Pract 2018;47:639-45

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.

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.

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.

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.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Amgen

This project uses MedicineInsight data to better understand the prevalence and management of osteoporosis in general practice. The outputs of the data analysis will be used to inform future education interventions and practice reports delivered independently by NPS MedicineWise.

Organisation: Simpson Centre for Health Services Research
Funding source: HCF Research Foundation

This project is investigating the feasibility of using MedicineInsight data to test indicators for patients near end of life, and if this data can be used to identify points for future intervention to improve advanced care planning in general practice.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This study aims to determine the number and geographical variation in requests for sexual health tests in general practice for syphilis, chlamydia and gonorrhoea.

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.

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).

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.

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.

Publication: Trends in long-term opioid prescriptions for musculoskeletal conditions in Australian general practice: a national longitudinal study using MedicineInsight, 2012–2018 Sean Black-Tiong, David Gonzalez-Chica, Nigel Stocks

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.

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.

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.

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: Jun M, Jardine MJ, Perkovic V, Pilard Q, Billot L, Rodgers A, et al. (2019) Hyperkalemia and renin-angiotensin aldosterone system inhibitor therapy in chronic kidney disease: A general practice-based, observational study. PLoS ONE 14(3): e0213192.

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.

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 report

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.

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: Schaffer AL, Busingye D, Chidwick K, Brett J and Blogg S. Pregabalin prescribing patterns in Australian general practice, 2012–2018: a cross-sectional study

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.

Publication: Gadzhanova S, Pratt N, Roughead E. 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.

Publication: 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 

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.

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.

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.

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: Frank O, Bernardo CDO, González-Chica D, Macartney K, Menzies R, Stocks N. Pneumococcal vaccination uptake among patients aged 65 years or over in Australian general practice

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.

Publication: González-Chica D, Vanlint S, Hoon E, Stocks N. 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.

Publication: Gonzalez-Chica D, 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.

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.

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

Organisation: University of Melbourne
Funding source: RACGP HCF Research Foundation Grant

The aim of this project is to understand the management of osteoarthritis in Australian general practice. Various investigative aspects include the incidence and prevalence of osteoarthritis and the medications prescribed for the condition.

Organisation: University of Sydney
Funding source: Sydney Medical School, Kickstart Grant

This project is using MedicineInsight data to investigate the frequency and trends of pathology testing for older patients with type 2 diabetes in Australian general practice.

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.

Publication: Radford J, Castelino RL, Jose MD, et al. 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].

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

Publication: Khanam MA, Kitsos A, Stankovich J, Castelino R, Jose M, Kinsman L, Peterson G, Wimmer B, Zaidi STR, Radford J. Chronic kidney disease monitoring in Australian general practice. Aust J Gen Pract 2019; 48(3): 132-137.

Publication: Kitsos, A., Peterson, G. M., Jose, M. D., Khanam, M. A., Castelino, R. L., & Radford, J. C. (2019). Variation in Documenting Diagnosable Chronic Kidney Disease in General Medical Practice: Implications for Quality Improvement and Research. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health.

Article: Khanam MA , Kitsos A Stankovich J, Castelino R Jose M Peterson GM Wimmer B Zaidi STR Radford J, Association of continuity of care with blood pressure control in patients with chronic kidney disease and hypertension, AJGP

Publication: Bezabhe, W.M.; Kitsos, A.; Saunder, T.; Peterson, G.M.; Bereznicki , L.R.; Wimmer, B.C.; Jose, M.; Radford, J. Medication Prescribing Quality in Australian Primary Care Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 783.

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.

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.

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

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

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:

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

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).

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.

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

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

The aims of this study are to

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

Publication: Busingye D , Pollack A, Chidwick K. Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in the Australian general practice population: A cross-sectional study

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

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

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: NPS MedicineWise

The aim of this study is to explore the patient prevalence of heart failure among regularly attending MedicineInsight patients aged 50 years and above, both nationally and by PHN, and describe the sociodemographics, comorbidities, and medicines use of MedicineInsight patients with diagnosed heart failure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Pfizer

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

Publication: Chidwick K, Busingye D, Pollack A, Osman R, Yoo J, Blogg S, Rubel D, Smith S. Prevalence, incidence and management of atopic dermatitis in Australian general practice using routinely collected data from MedicineInsight

Organisation: University of New South Wales
Funding source: University of New South Wales

This research project aims to investigate pathways to preventive care for people with severe mental illness (PWSMI), and to identify any gaps in the management of physical health of PWSMI.

Organisation: University of New South Wales
Funding source: University of New South Wales

This study aims to examine the feasibility of automatically calculating an electronic Frailty Index in general practice, overcome barriers to frailty screening and inform development of interventions to improve health outcomes in older patients.

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.

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: Youens, D, Moorin, R, Harrison, A, Varhol, R, Robinson, S, Brooks, C, and Boyd, J. Using general practice clinical information system data for research: the case in Australia.

Organisation: Department of Health and Human Services Victoria
Funding source: Department of Health and Human Services Victoria

This study is exploring whether MedicineInsight data can improve existing influenza sentinel surveillance systems on the community burden of disease during the influenza season and for ongoing surveillance throughout the year.

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.

Organisation: The George Institute for Global Health
Funding source: National Health and Medical Research Council

This project uses MedicineInsight data to identify opportunities to improve outcomes with better use of cardiovascular (CVD) medicines, including determining the potential for improving use of CVD preventive medicines in Australia.

Organisation: Primary Health Tasmania
Funding source: Primary Health Tasmania

The project uses MedicineInsight data to explore the pattern and distribution of diabetes in Tasmania with the aim of reducing the impact of diabetes, and improving the management of resources and the care provided to people affected by this health problem in Tasmania.

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

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.

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

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: Australian Government Department of Health

This project will deliver a MedicineInsight report on existing national key performance indicators (nKPIs) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-indigenous people managed in mainstream MedicineInsight general practices.

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.

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.

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.

Publication: Bernardo CDO, Gonzalez-Chica D, Stocks N 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

Publication: De Oliveira Bernardo C, González-Chica DA, Chilver M, Stocks N. Influenza immunisation coverage from 2015 to 2017: A national study of adult patients from Australian general practice. Vaccine 2019

Publication: De Oliveira Bernardo C, González-Chica DA, Stocks N. Impact of funding influenza vaccination on coverage among Australian children: a national study using MedicineInsight, a large general practice database

Organisation: University of New South Wales
Funding source: University of New South Wales

This project will assess the potential of MedicineInsight data to detect clusters of Adverse Events Following Immunisation in Australia, to potentially ascertain the causality of the clusters and investigate other hypotheses related to vaccine safety.

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.

Organisation: University of New South Wales
Funding source: University of New South Wales

This project aims to improve the understanding around the relationship between acute asthma and allergic rhinitis during various meteorological conditions in different regions of Australia and to determine if an early warning system could be developed.

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.

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

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.

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

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: Manski-Nankervis J, Thuraisingam S, Sluggett JK, Kilov G, Furler J, O’Neal D, Jenkins A. Prescribing of diabetes medications to people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease: a national cross-sectional study

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.

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.

Organisation: Telethon Kids Institute
Funding Source: Telethon Kids Institute

This is a clinical improvement pilot study comparing two processes for medical coding of GP free text. The Telethon Kids Institute will be using both manual and automatic methods to code to an internationally recognised clinical healthcare classification (SNOMED CT).

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.

Organisation: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Funding source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare is using a sample of MedicineInsight data to evaluate the feasibility of the MedicineInsight data to support and inform national level reporting in primary care in Australia.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Organisation: NPS MedicineWise
Funding source: MTPConnect

This project is testing the feasibility of using MedicineInsight data to setting up clinical trial sites in Australia and identifying potential patients to be recruited into clinical trials.

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.