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Construction of the Australian Inpatient Export Database (AIED).

OBJECTIVE
To establish a database of exports by Australian acute health care institutions for the period in which exports were first promoted.


METHOD
Hospital morbidity data for patients resident overseas (Group A) and Medicare ineligible patients resident in Australia (Group B) were sought for the period 1983-84 to 1995-96 from each state and territory health department. Private hospital permission was obtained for the release of identifiable private hospital data.


RESULTS
Data were coalesced into a relational database covering the period 1987-88 to 1995-96. Coding variations between and within jurisdictions over time necessitated the development of a consistent coding mechanism. Group A and Group B patients gave rise to at least 77,568 separations over the period 1987-88 to 1995-96. Of these separations 58,418 (75.3%) should have generated export income and another 10,158 separations (13.1%) were likely to have generated export income. Definite export separations not for dialysis number 52,573, and these form the AIED.


CONCLUSION
An Australian database of inpatient exports, the AIED, encompassing public and private hospital data has been established for the period 1987-88 to 1995-96. The problems encountered in the course of this study emphasise the desirability of maintaining an adequately resourced national repository for health statistics.