Whole-of-population linked data: strengthening the evidence to drive improvement in health and health care in Australia

The potential for high-quality large-scale linked data to provide evidence to improve health and healthcare is undisputed; supporting and optimising use of such data are leading priorities across government and the private sector. However, approaches to data have been limited in scale, scope and utility. This project aims to work with partners to create and optimise use of a national linked health data platform, with whole-of-population individual linked data, to provide robust evidence on variation in health and healthcare, particularly CVD health, and identify opportunities for improvement. The platform is founded on the staged linkage over 3 years of individual Census data to health outcome and health services data, including data on: fact and cause of death; Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS Australian and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Surveys; Commonwealth Aged Care; and, where possible, state-based hospitalisations.