Home to more than 30 valuable data holdings, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) delivers unbiased, credible and comparable health information. We also produce data standards and a wealth of reports, analyses, publications and education products for Canada’s health systems. This guide gives you an overview of the key products and services we provide.
Note: This guide is updated every year. Formerly published as a PDF, it is now available in this HTML format. Archived versions of the Products and Services Guide are available.
On this page:
Products
We provide a number of resources to support the use of our products. Click the link on the product or service name in the tables below to access these.
Standards
| Standard | Description | Last updated | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acute and Ambulatory Care Content Standard | Provides jurisdictions, health care organizations and vendors with information on CIHI's acute and ambulatory care data requirements so they can consider and implement these within systems that collect this data at the point of care. | 2024 | Yes* |
| ICD-10-CA/CCI and Canadian Coding Standards | The national standards for classifying health care diagnoses and procedures. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th Revision, Canada (ICD-10-CA) applies to diseases, injuries and causes of death; Canadian Classification of Health Interventions (CCI) applies to therapeutic and diagnostic interventions and other health care interventions. The Canadian Coding Standards for ICD-10-CA and CCI supplements the rules in the classifications and applies to data submitted to the DAD and NACRS. | 2022 | Yes†
|
| Canadian Patient Experiences Survey — Inpatient Care (CPES-IC) — 6M and 20M | Standardized surveys that jurisdictions or hospitals can use to gather feedback from patients about the quality of care they received during their most recent stay in a Canadian acute care hospital. Information gathered from the surveys can support quality improvement and provide a platform for national comparisons and benchmarking for patient-reported experience measures. Both the CPES-IC-6M and -20M are endorsed by the Health Standards Organization and Accreditation Canada for patient experience surveying. | 2024 | Yes* |
Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) Abstracting Manual National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) Abstracting Manual | Reference tools for data collectors and users to improve the quality and comparability of DAD and NACRS data that is submitted to the databases. | 2022 | Yes |
| InterRAI manuals | The interRAI manuals are available to order on the Canada page of the interRAI Catalog. The manuals are published by interRAI, a collaborative network of researchers and practitioners in more than 35 countries who are committed to improving care for persons who are disabled or medically complex. | Various | No |
| RAI and Rehabilitation manuals | Manuals for the RAI-HC and the RAI-MDS 2.0, as well as the Rehabilitation MDS Manual, are available as downloads in CIHI’s eStore. | Various | Yes |
| Health Human Resources Minimum Data Set (HHR MDS) data standard | Provides jurisdictions, health care organizations and vendors with information on collecting, processing and reporting health human resources (HHR) data. It will help facilitate the development of HHR databases that are consistent with national standards and provide opportunities to make comparisons between jurisdictions and professions. | 2022 (planned update for 2025) | Yes |
| MIS Patient Costing Methodology | A national methodology that uses the MIS Standards to gather and allocate costs to individual patients. | 2019 | Yes |
| Pan-Canadian Primary Health Care Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Minimum Data Set | An essential component of improving the standardization and comparability of primary health care data. Defines a focused set of primary health care EMR data elements and associated code systems. It can guide the creation of a comparable set of primary health care EMR data for performance measurement across Canada. | 2022 | Yes* |
| Pan-Canadian Organ Donation and Transplantation (ODT) Minimum Data Sets and Data Standards | CIHI has developed minimum data sets (MDSs) for Deceased Donation (DD), Living Donation (LD), and Transplantation (Tx). These documents are intended to support future system-level reporting of ODT performance indicators and measures. | Various (2022 and 2023) | Yes* |
| SNOMED CT CA to classifications maps | CIHI has created a comprehensive map from SNOMED CT CA to ICD-10-CA. These classification maps can be incorporated into system software to provide a semi-automated link from clinical information recorded by the clinician in an electronic health record using SNOMED CT CA to ICD-10-CA codes. In addition, SNOMED CT CA to ICD-9 maps provide a standardized approach for collecting primary care health concern information and support patient-level physician billing. | Updated twice annually | Yes |
| Standards for Management Information Systems in Canadian Health Care Organizations | National standards for gathering, processing and reporting financial and statistical data on the day-to-day operations of a health service organization. | 2022 | Yes§ |
Notes
* Free to the public.
† Includes 1 licence for up to 100 concurrent users per organization.
‡ The Folio version includes 2 licences, each for up to 5 concurrent users, per organization.
§ The PDF version is free to the public.
Data holdings
Hospital care
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Patient Experiences Reporting System (CPERS) | Data about patient experiences from acute care hospitals or jurisdictions that administer the Canadian Patient Experiences Survey — Inpatient Care (CPES-IC). | No* |
| Discharge Abstract Database (DAD) | Administrative, clinical and demographic information on hospital discharges (including deaths, sign-outs and transfers). Some provinces and territories also use the DAD to capture information on day surgery. | Yes |
| Hospital Morbidity Database (HMDB) | Includes records from the DAD as well as acute care and day surgery data from Quebec. | Yes |
| National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) | Hospital-based and community-based ambulatory care data on day surgeries, outpatient and community-based clinic visits and emergency department visits. | Yes |
| National Rehabilitation Reporting System (NRS) | Administrative, clinical and demographic information on clients receiving adult inpatient rehabilitation. | Yes |
| Patient-reported outcome measures | Information on aspects of patients’ health status at a particular point in time (during an illness or treatment) that are relevant to their quality of life, including symptoms, functionality, and physical, mental and social health (general, and hip and knee joint replacement). | No |
Note
* CPERS is free to Core Plan members once a jurisdiction pays a one-time fee to participate in the data holding.
Community care
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Continuing Care Reporting System (CCRS) | Clinical, administrative and resource utilization data on individuals who receive continuing care services in hospitals or long-term care homes. | Yes |
| Home Care Reporting System (HCRS) | Clinical, administrative and resource utilization data from publicly funded home care programs. | Yes |
| Integrated interRAI Reporting System (IRRS) | Clinical, administrative and resource utilization data from publicly funded home care programs as well as hospital or long-term care homes that provide continuing care services. | Yes |
Specialized care
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) | Patient-specific information (clinical, surgical and prosthesis) on hip and knee replacement surgeries performed in Canada. | Yes |
| Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) | Data from hospital dialysis programs, transplant programs, organ donation organizations and independent health facilities. Tracks patients from their first treatment for end-stage organ failure (dialysis or transplantation) to their death. | Yes |
| Canadian Organ Donation and Transplantation Data System (CanODT) | Data on deceased donation, living donation, and transplantation in Canada. | Yes |
| Hospital Mental Health and Substance Use (HMHSU) Data Asset | Data on hospitalizations for mental illness and substance use. | Yes |
| Ontario Mental Health Reporting System (OMHRS) | Information about inpatient mental and physical health, social supports and service use, as well as care planning, outcome measurement, quality improvement and case-mix funding applications (not exclusively Ontario). | No |
| Ontario Trauma Registry (OTR) | Identifies, describes and quantifies trauma injuries and deaths in Ontario. | No |
Pharmaceuticals
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) | Claims-level data focusing primarily on publicly funded drug benefit programs. | Yes |
Patient safety
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| National System for Incident Reporting (NSIR) | Data submitted anonymously by Canadian health care facilities on all types of medication and radiation treatment incidents, including rare events and near misses. | Yes |
Workforce
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Health Workforce Database (HWDB) | Supply, geographic distribution, education and employment information on 7 groups of health professionals. Supply, geographic distribution, age and sex information on an additional 30 groups of health professionals. | Yes |
| National Physician Database (NPDB) | Physician payments, physicians’ level of activity, and demographic characteristics. | Yes |
| Scott’s Medical Database (SMDB) | Supply, distribution, education, demographic and migration information on physicians. | Yes |
Spending
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian MIS Database (CMDB) | Financial and statistical data about the operations of health care organizations, including hospitals, and community services provided through regional health authorities. | Yes |
| Canadian Patient Cost Database (CPCD) | Detailed cost data from a subset of health service organizations in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia; detailed costs are submitted to CIHI at the patient level. | Yes |
| National Health Expenditure Database (NHEX) | Summary data on all health spending in Canada. | Yes* |
Note
* Free to the public.
International comparisons
| Data holding | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy surveys | Comparable information on patient and provider experiences in 11 developed countries. | Yes* |
| Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Database (Canadian Segment) | Internationally comparable data on close to 1,200 variables. | Yes* |
Note
* Free to the public.
Grouping methodologies
Hospital care
| Methodology | Description | Last updated | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case Mix Decision-Support Guide: CMG+ | Information that increases clients’ ability to understand and use Case Mix Group+ (CMG+) grouping information and to address increasing demands for case mix understanding and direction on how to use case-mix measures and products to inform decision-support. | 2009 | Yes |
| Case Mix Group+ (CMG+) | Aggregates acute care inpatients based on clinical and resource-utilization characteristics. | 2022 | Yes |
| Comprehensive Ambulatory Classification System (CACS) | Aggregates ambulatory care patients based on a number of data elements including diagnosis or intervention for the DAD, as well as emergency visit indicator, mode of visit, visit disposition, ambulatory care type or program area for NACRS. | 2022 | Yes |
| DAD Resource Intensity Weights (RIWs) and Expected Length of Stay (ELOS) | Explanation of the ELOS and RIW calculations for typical and atypical acute care inpatient cases. Includes tables containing the base ELOS, Trim Points and RIW value for each CMG and age group combination. | 2022 | Yes |
| System for Classification of In-Patient Psychiatry (SCIPP) (PDF) | Grouping methodology used to categorize patients based on assessment data in OMHRS. | 2019 | No |
Community and specialized care
| Methodology | Description | Last updated | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rehabilitation Patient Group (RPG) (PDF) | Categorizes inpatient rehabilitation client data based on primary reason for receiving services, client age at admission, and motor and cognitive functional status. | 2018 | Yes |
| Resource Utilization Groups version III (RUG-III) (PDF) | Aggregates complex continuing care and residential care clients based on clinical and resource-utilization characteristics. | 2016 | Yes |
| Resource Utilization Groups version III Home Care (RUG-III-HC) (PDF) | Aggregates home care clients based on clinical and resource-utilization characteristics. | 2010 | Yes |
| Resource Utilization Groups version III Plus (RUG-III Plus) | Aggregates complex continuing care and residential care clients based on clinical and resource-utilization characteristics. | 2018 | Yes |
Population health
| Methodology | Description | Last updated | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population Grouping Methodology (PDF) | Builds clinical and demographic profiles of individuals to determine expected health care needs of the population. | 2023 | Yes |
Indicators
| Source | Description | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| CIHI health indicators | CIHI indicators that support provincial and territorial health ministries, regional health authorities and health care facilities as they monitor the health of their populations and track how their local health systems function. Includes definitions, methodologies and characteristics for the indicators we regularly calculate and report on, and links to the data tables, visualizations or other data reporting tools where we report indicator results. Note: Unless otherwise indicated, original data is provided by Canada’s provinces and territories. | Yes* |
Note
* List of indicators, definitions, methodologies and characteristics for the indicators is free to the public.
Reports and analyses
We respond to health care systems’ needs and challenges by providing relevant, timely information that supports better decisions. We review and update our analytical plan twice a year, based on stakeholder feedback. You can find recent and upcoming releases stemming from our analytical plan on our website.
See CIHI’s Access data and reports page for a selection of our recent, publicly available reports, analyses and more.
Selected data reporting tools
| Tool | Description | Data years available | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Indicators e-Publication | Produced jointly with Statistics Canada. A compilation of more than 80 indicators measuring health status, non-medical determinants of health, health system performance and community and health system characteristics. These indicators are produced at the health region level, as well as at provincial, territorial and Canada levels. Data used to calculate the indicators is the most recently available and represents a wide range of sources including the censuses, surveys and administrative records. | Various | Yes* |
| Health inequalities tools | Tools that help analysts and researchers explore trends in health inequalities by socio-economic status and demographic factors by year and changes over time at national and provincial levels. Tools that assist analysts and researchers with measuring and reporting on health inequalities, with a focus on stratifying health indicators. | Ongoing | Yes |
| Patient Cost Estimator | Provides average cost estimates of services provided to average patients in hospitals across the country. Includes estimates of physician costs for the hospital stays from 6 provinces. | 2017 to 2021 | Yes |
| Portal | A subscription-based, ad hoc reporting tool. Gives you access to data from CIHI’s DAD, NACRS, NRS and CMDB data holdings, as well as geography and census information from Statistics Canada. | Current open year plus last 6 closed years | No† |
| Quick Stats | A series of free, publicly available reports that provide aggregate-level data about health care in Canada. Note: Unless otherwise indicated, original data is provided by Canada’s provinces and territories. | Various | Yes* |
| Wait Times for priority procedures across Canada | An interactive tool and chartbook that give you wait times data for selected acute care priority procedures. | 2008 to 2023 | Yes* |
| Your Health System: In Brief | Selected indicators representing 5 themes that Canadians told us were important. Targets the general public. | 2016 to 2021 | Yes* |
| Your Health System: In Depth | A suite of indicators that provide comparable results for hospitals and regions. Targets the public, as well as facilities, regions and ministries. | 2016 to 2020 | Yes* |
| Your Health System: Insight | An analytical tool that lets health care providers and analysts dig deeper into indicator results. Targets acute and ambulatory care facilities, regions and ministries. | Current open year plus last 5 closed years | Yes |
Notes
* Free to the public.
† As part of its Core Plan, CIHI provides ministries of health with 1 complimentary registration. Ministries can choose to offer this registration to an analyst on staff or to an analyst at any facility within their jurisdiction.
Additional tools
| Tool/toolkit | Description | Last updated | Included in Core Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIHI Reference Data Model Toolkit | Public tool with information and resources that enable common terminology and data integration, including data standards (e.g., sex, gender). | 2023 | Yes* |
| eQuery | Tool for submitting questions about many of CIHI’s products and services, as well as a searchable repository of answers on data-related topics. | Ongoing | Yes |
| Pharmaceutical Data Tool | Tool designed to make key pharmaceutical information (program design, drug coverage) more comprehensive for stakeholders’ analytical and policy needs. | 2024 | Yes* |
Note
* Free to the public.
Education
CIHI develops and delivers a comprehensive set of education products that support you in using our products and services. These are available in a variety of formats to suit learners’ needs (e.g., eLearning courses, web-conference courses, in-person workshops, job aids, checklists, videos). Education offerings are unlimited to Core Plan organizations, based on course/registration availability. Visit our Education page to learn more.
Services
Ad hoc data requests
Researchers, decision-makers and health managers can request specific data from 1 or more of CIHI’s data holdings. We can provide data at an aggregate or record level. Access to record-level data is provided through CIHI’s Secure Access Environment (SAE). The SAE gives authorized individuals secure and controlled remote access to customized record-level data sets and analytical tools.
In-house or customized training
If desired, CIHI facilitators can deliver in-house training, or we can develop customized training to meet your organization’s needs.
Contact our Education team by email, education@cihi.ca, to learn more about availability and pricing of in-house or customized training.
Local analytics and support
Core Plan organizations have access to CIHI’s local analytics and support service when seeking custom analysis or support specific to their facility, health region or jurisdiction through our regional offices. Email help@cihi.ca learn more.
Regional offices
CIHI’s regional offices provide provincially/territorially focused services and supports for CIHI’s stakeholders via 2 core functions:
- Client affairs managers provide general orientations to CIHI; offer a concierge-like service to help you understand, navigate and connect with CIHI’s extensive programs; and facilitate access to CIHI’s products and services. They also help ensure that the appropriate leaders are engaged and consulted by CIHI to build and maintain highly collaborative relationships with Canada’s health care systems.
- A dedicated analytical team provides Core Plan organizations with local analytics and support services upon request. These services include custom analyses, unique tools and resources that employ CIHI data and information, and analytical support and guidance for existing CIHI products and services. Local analytics and support services frequently reflect information specific to facilities, health regions or subregions, and/or provinces/territories, and can include data from additional sources, including Statistics Canada and others.
Emailhelp@cihi.cato learn more.
How to access our products and services
You can access CIHI’s products and services through our website and by logging in to your My Services account.
Your CIHI My Services account gives you access to information, manuals, reports, learning resources and some data reporting tools. Access to some products is restricted to clients whose organizations have signed a service agreement with us. Access to some CIHI products and services is limited to ministries of health, certain health organizations and organizations that submit data to us. Learn how to create an account.
Our eStore lets you access or purchase many of our products, publications, manuals and other tools.
Core Plan access
CIHI has bilateral agreements with Canada’s provincial and territorial health ministries that gives them access to CIHI’s products and services. Most publicly funded Canadian health facilities and regional health authorities (or similar organizations) are covered by these bilateral agreements. These organizations have free access to a set of CIHI’s products and services. We refer to this access as the Core Plan.
To find out whether your organization is entitled to access CIHI’s products and services through the Core Plan, email help@cihi.ca or call 613-241-5543.
Some Core Plan products and services are subject to confidentiality and privacy restrictions (e.g., Your Health System: Insight). To access these, an organization may have to sign a service agreement with CIHI.
Core Plan organizations generally have unlimited online access to publications and education products in a variety of formats (e.g., HTML, PDF, online modules). Some products and services (e.g., MIS Standards Folio version, ICD-10-CA) are subject to a maximum entitlement for each organization with Core Plan access. We’ve noted these entitlements in the products and services tables above.
Core Plan organizations that wish to access products or services beyond their entitlements are eligible for Price A listed in eStore.
Core Plan organizations that wish to access products and services excluded from their jurisdiction’s bilateral agreement pay Price B for that particular product or service.
Pricing for non–Core Plan organizations and users
Organizations and users who do not have Core Plan access pay per product/service.
Prices for each of our products and services are listed in our eStore or on other CIHI web pages.
- Price A applies to Canadian health facilities, governments, not-for-profit health agencies, universities, health professionals and researchers from the public sector.
- Price B applies to private commercial operations (including but not limited to software vendors and consultants), foreign customers and others who do not qualify for Price A.
Most of our products and services are available in electronic format. You can access them directly from our website and eStore.
To increase public awareness of Canada’s health systems, CIHI’s online publications and reports that contain national health information are available for free to all users.
Product and standards specifications
CIHI makes product standards, specifications, documentation, software and other materials and related services available to customers (commercial and non-commercial) for use in Canada’s health care systems. Access to and use of these products is governed by CIHI’s Health Information Standards and Specifications Agreement (HISSA). Authorized customers with a signed HISSA are able to subscribe to CIHI’s suite of products; access is revisited on an annual basis, though not all products have annual revisions. Subscription for non-commercial customers is free of charge. To find out whether your organization already has a subscription, please email help@cihi.ca or call 613-241-5543.
Data and information quality
CIHI’s Data and Information Quality Program is recognized internationally for its comprehensiveness and high standards. We work with our data suppliers and users to ensure we continue to be a trusted source of health information that meets the broadening needs of our stakeholders.
Privacy and security
We’re committed to protecting the privacy and security of the personal health information we store in our data holdings. We review our comprehensive policies and procedures regularly to ensure they remain consistent with industry best practices. For more information, visit our Privacy and security page.