National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System metadata

Overview

The National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) contains pan-Canadian prescription claims-level data, focusing primarily on publicly financed drug benefit programs. The database also contains supporting information for additional context:

Formulary and drug product information
Information on policies of public drug plans in Canada

Find out more about pharmaceutical care and utilization, including reports and analyses based on NPDUIS data and about our work on opioid reporting.

Data source

NPDUIS contains claims and formulary data for public drug programs from 10 provinces/territories. It also contains formulary information from 1 federal drug program.

Claims data is collected from

Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon

Formulary data is collected from

Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Yukon
Indigenous Services Canada

Data coverage

NPDUIS houses pan-Canadian data regarding claims submitted to public drug programs for payment or that were processed for documentation under a drug information system. The database includes the following:

Claims data — Cost and utilization information on prescribed drugs. This information is used to measure and analyze prescription drug use in Canada.
Drug product information — Used to identify drug products in a standardized format.
Plan information and formulary data — The Pharmaceutical Data Tool outlines the administrative policies of public drug programs and the drugs listed on their formularies. This information may help explain differences in drug utilization patterns across the country.

Data availability

NPDUIS contains claims and formulary data for public drug programs from 10 provinces/territories. It also contains formulary information from 1 federal drug program.

Availability of historical claims data varies by jurisdiction.

Claims data up to 2023–2024 is available; 2024 data will be available in June 2025.

Claims data (earliest date available):

Newfoundland and Labrador (April 2008)
Prince Edward Island (April 2004)
Nova Scotia (April 2001)
New Brunswick (January 2000)
Ontario (April 2010)
Manitoba (January 2000)
Saskatchewan (January 2000)
Alberta (January 2000)
British Columbia (January 2006)
Yukon (January 2007)

The most current formulary data from NPDUIS is maintained.

Formulary data (earliest date available):

Newfoundland and Labrador (January 2004)
Prince Edward Island (June 2000)
Nova Scotia (March 2004)
New Brunswick (September 2004)
Ontario (January 2003)
Manitoba (September 2006)
Saskatchewan (January 2001)
Alberta (May 1991)
British Columbia (January 1993)
Yukon (August 2014)
Indigenous Services Canada (May 2005)

For data requests, please complete and submit the online data inquiry form.

Classification

Claims data is collected in a standardized format based on the Canadian Pharmacists Association’s pharmacy claim standard.

Drugs are identified using Health Canada’s Drug Identification Number. They are classified based on the World Health Organization’s Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System as assigned by Health Canada.

Data elements

NPDUIS captures the following information, where available:

Unique client identifier
Client age
Client gender
Unique pharmacy identifier
Pharmacy province/territory
Unique prescriber identifier
Prescriber specialty code (limited)
Prescriber province/territory
Drug cost data elements related to ingredient, markup and professional fee
Plan/program paid amounts

Formulary data identifies how drugs are covered under public drug programs.

More detailed information on the NPDUIS data elements can be found in the NPDUIS Data Dictionary (PDF).

Data quality

CIHI ensures that the quality of information in our data holdings is suited to its intended uses and that data users are provided with accurate information about data quality. Read more about our Data and Information Quality Program.

For specific information regarding the quality of data collected by NPDUIS, please contact CIHI at drugs@cihi.ca.

Privacy impact assessment

Privacy impact assessments (PIAs) evaluate and address the privacy impacts of programs and systems.

Go to the Privacy and security page to view the PIA, which contains further information about the purposes, data elements and data sources for this data holding.

Contact us

For further information, please email

help@cihi.ca