Table 2. NHIS data versus HIRA data.
| NHIS data | HIRA data | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| SAMPLE data§ | |||
| Components | 2% of the total population and 4 other types | 3% of the total population and 3 other types | |
| Acquisition (purchase) of sample data | IRB-approved research protocol is required | No research protocol required* | |
| Ownership | No ownership of data | Provide ownership of data | |
| Type of preferred study | Longitudinal study preferred | Cross-sectional data preferred | |
| ALL (customized) data‖ | |||
| Components | Provides all national data that meet the conditions requested by the researcher | ||
| Ownership | No ownership of data | ||
| Death records | Includes death records (except cause of death) | Cannot be confirmed† | |
| Center visit | Researchers must visit the center for use | Researchers must visit the center for use‡ | |
Both NHIS and HIRA provide “ALL (customized)” and “SAMPLE” data. For “ALL (customized)” data, neither NHIS nor HIRA provide ownership of the data (direct visit to the center or remote access) HIRA's “SAMPLE” data is the only data that can be directly owned and processed by medical personnel or companies.
NHIS, National Health Insurance Service; HIRA, Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service; IRB, Institutional Review Board.
*Acquisition (purchase) of sample data provided by HIRA does not require research protocol or IRB approval. However, when conducting research using sample data, researchers can start the research by obtaining the research protocol and IRB approval; †In the case of death in the hospital, death information can be checked only when the medical treatment termination code is checked as death in the HIRA data. However, not all people die in the hospital, and even if they die in the hospital, there are cases where the treatment termination code is omitted; therefore, it is not possible to check death record with 100% accuracy; ‡Basically, remote access to HIRA is possible, but in some cases, remote access is restricted when the amount of data is too large or when a private company participates in the research and conducts analysis; §Only some patients are represented as a sample; ‖All the eligible citizens of the country.