Filled prescriptions of reimbursable medicines according to prescriber 2020–
Data content
Medicines reimbursable under the National Health Insurance scheme: Prescriptions filled by pharmacies and the associated costs according to prescriber. Recorded as recipients are persons who are dispensed a reimbursable batch of medicine.
Also included in the data are purchases of medicine for which no reimbursement was paid although the medicine is reimbursable. Reimbursements are not paid until the recipient has reached an initial deductible limit. The initial deductible is assessed on a calendar year basis.
The data only includes dispensed medicines reimbursed through a pharmacy and comparable purchases of medicines made prior to reaching the annual initial deductible. Only outpatient medicine use is reimbursed under the National Health Insurance scheme. Medicines administered in a public hospital or in an inpatient setting are not reimbursable.
The data do not include dispensed medicines for which a reimbursement was paid afterwards per submitted claim. For the majority of medicine purchases, the reimbursement is provided directly at the pharmacy.
The indicators can be studied based on prescriber categories, but certain types of data, including region, age and sex refer to the recipient and not the prescriber. Recipients’ age group is based on their age at the end of the reference period or as of their date of death. The regional data are based on a person’s (recipient’s) place of permanent residence at the end of the reference period or as of their date of death. The regional classification is based on the current year’s situation.
To prevent the indirect identification of individuals, the indicator is displayed as two hyphens if the number of recipients or prescribers is less than four (1-3).
Data on the number of prescribers is not available (NA) if age or sex is used as classifier.
Prescriber
- Doctor
- Dentist
Prescriptions by all prescribers cannot be viewed in the report at the same time. Prescriber data are based on each prescriber’s individual prescriber ID recorded in the prescription.
Perspectives
- Filled prescriptions according to prescriber
- In the former, the report is structured in the following sequence:
- Time period
- Region
- Medical specialty
- ATC In the perspective
- Filled prescriptions according to number of recipients
Filled prescriptions according to number of recipients, the data are presented with the largest number of recipients at the top.
Variables and classifications
- Reference period: Year and Quarter.
- Time: The content presented depends on the selected reference period.
The default is the latest full year. Several periods can be selected for a single report. - Geographical focus : Whole country and Hospital districts.
- Region: The regional data are based on the recipient’s municipality of residence at the end of the reference year or as of their date of death. The regional classification is based on the current year’s situation.
- Does the prescriber have specialist status (as of the date of purchase of medicine): The following alternatives are available: All prescribers, Prescribers with specialist status and Prescribers without specialist status.
- Medical specialty: Data on medical specialties are derived from the educational classification data of the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira). Specialty designations are as of the date of purchase of the medicine. If a prescriber has several specialties, he or she will be registered in the statistics according to the latest specialty of the statistical reference year. In the statistics a renewed prescription is registered as a prescription of the doctor who renewed the prescription.
- Sex: Women, Men and Data not available. The default is to show the total.
- Age: 5-year age groups and 11 defined age groups.
- Age group: The content presented depends on the type of age group selected.
One or more age groups can be selected for a single report. If more than one age group is selected, the report will show their total. - ATC class:
- Medicines are classified according to the ATC classification (anatomic therapeutic chemical classification). In the classification the medicines are first classified into 14 main groups and then further into subgroups. The fifth-level subgroup, which is the level with the greatest level of detail, shows individual chemical substances or, in the case of combination products, combinations of substances.
- On the first level of classification the medicines are classified into main groups according to the organ or organ system which the medicine affects. Exceptions to this are class E, which contains data on reimbursements for emollients, class V (Others) and the category 'Data not available'. Non-ATC products include special license preparations, pharmacy-prepared medications and many preparations readied for sale at the pharmacy.
- ATC codes of several different levels can be selected for a single report. For technical reasons, the number of individual ATC codes that can be selected for a report is limited. If too many selections are made, the report created will be empty.
- ATC designations are current to the time of purchase. Alterations in the ATC codes can be examined on the WHO website.
Indicators
- Number of recipients
Number of persons who purchased medicines reimbursable under the National Health Insurance scheme. - Number of filled prescriptions
Number of filled prescriptions reimbursable under the National Health Insurance scheme. A filled prescription is a batch of a certain medicinal product which is dispensed at the pharmacy at one and the same time. A medicinal product which is prescribed for a year is usually registered in the statistics as several filled prescriptions, since the patient usually acquires the medicine every three months. - Number of prescribers
The number of persons who prescribed medicines which are reimbursable under the National Health Insurance scheme and which were dispensed by a pharmacy during the selected reference period. The number of prescribers is not available (NA) when age or sex is used as classifier. - Costs (€)
The sum of the retail price of the medicine and the pharmacy's dispensing fee from which the National Health Insurance reimbursement has not yet been deducted. The costs include the pharmacy’s margin, dispensing fee and value added tax.
Availability of statistics
Statistical data are available for the period beginning 1 January 2020. The statistical reference period is based on the date of purchase of the medicine. Because the 2019 data included in the report have been produced with a new data warehousing system, they do not fully correspond to the official statistics for 2019 released previously. However, the level of correspondence is adequate so as to allow the 2019 figures to be used for comparative purposes.
Updating frequency
Data are updated quarterly on 20th of May, August, November and February. Annual data are updated on 20 February.
Data source
Complete dataset stored in Kela's data warehouse consisting of data from Kela's systems for processing pharmacy payments, additional reimbursements for medicine expenses and the management of payments, as well as Kela’s demographic data.
Additional information
Contact information
Kela, Statistical Information Service
Email: tilastot@kela.fi
