Program and data

Understanding the data starts with the program that generates it. Every record in the NHIS databases is a by-product of enrolling people, collecting premiums, paying claims, or running the national health screening program, and each of these processes shapes what the data can and cannot measure.

• The health insurance system describes who is covered, how benefits and cost sharing work, and how the NHIS differs from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA).
• NHIS research databases lists the databases available to researchers.
• Applying for data describes the application, review, and analysis environment.