The Health Information and Quality Authority has today published an updated catalogue of national health and social care data collections.

These collections gather large volumes of data to provide information on Irish health and social care services, and this catalogue combines information about them in a single location.

The publication of this catalogue should help to increase awareness and use of these national data collections, ultimately leading to improvements in the quality and safety of our health and social care services in Ireland.

An interactive searchable version of the catalogue is also available online, on hiqa.ie, to make the data easier to access.

Professor Jane Grimson, Director of Health Information with HIQA, said: “Safe, reliable health and social care depends on access to and use of good quality information. It is therefore essential that there is confidence in all aspects of this information if we are to achieve a high quality, value for money healthcare system.”

“Everyone involved in the delivery or receipt of health and social care services needs access to complete, valid and up-to-date information in order to make informed choices and decisions. Ultimately, the primary purpose of collecting this data is to improve the quality and safety of health and social care services.”

“The publication of this updated version of the catalogue provides a national overview of the data available and it will be of particular interest to health professionals, policy makers, public and population health specialists and researchers, as well as the general public, patients and service users as the ultimate beneficiaries, by informing them about these collections and how they can be accessed.”

The Catalogue of National Health and Social Care Data Collections was first published in 2010 and included 97 data collections. This updated version includes 108 collections, reflecting a number of new additions, while others that appeared previously are no longer in operation.

As these collections invariably change over time, HIQA will continually update the catalogue. It can be found on hiqa.ie at http://www.hiqa.ie/healthcare/health-information/data-collections/online....