Table 1.
Key variables included in the Danish National Prescription Registry
| Variable description | Variable name | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Patient details | ||
| Personal identifier | CPR | Civil Personal Register (CPR) number, which encodes date of birth and gender and enables unambiguous linkage to other Danish registries |
| Dispensing details | ||
| Date | EKSD | Date of completed sale/debit/dispensing |
| Packages | APK | Number of packets/units of the product dispensed |
| Product code | VNR | Product code of the product dispensed |
| Name* | PNAME | Product name |
| ATC* | ATC | WHO-defined Anatomical Therapeutical Chemical code |
| DDD* | VOLUME | Number of defined daily doses per package |
| Amount* | PACKSIZE | Number of tablets/units per package |
| Strength* | STRNUM | Numerical strength per tablet/unit |
| Form* | DOSFORM | Formulation of the drug |
| Other | ||
| Prescriber | RECU | Identifier for the prescriber, e.g. a hospital or a general practice unit |
| Pharmacy | IBNR | Identifier for the dispensing pharmacy |
*Within Statistics Denmark, these variables are included directly in the registry, whereas at the Danish Health Data Authorities they are obtained via linkage with the product code.