Table 1.

Information available from the various data sources in the study

Data set	Fields	Period covered
HMDC	Demographic data, diagnosis, comorbidities and history, procedures, dates of admission and discharge	1980–2014
Death data set	Cause of death and date of death	1980–2014
PBS	Date of prescription and supply, PBS item code,* ATC code, quantity supplied, number of scripts, derived patient category	1 July 2002 to 30 June 2011

*PBS item code identifies the drug and strength dispensed.

ATC, Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical; HMDC, Hospital Morbidity Data Collection; PBS, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.