Comparison of national administrative and commercial databases to monitor expenditure and costs of statins across Europe.

OBJECTIVES: To compare data on statin utilisation and costs across Europe from routine administrative databases with those from a commercial source.
METHODS: Observational study in European Union member states and Norway. Comparison of data collected from national administrative databases used to reimburse pharmacists and data from a standard commercial source (Intercontinental Marketing Services Health): detailed data by drug for the year 2000.
RESULTS: There were differences among the data from administrative databases and those from the commercial source; these differences were of a consistent pattern in each country. In general, the commercial data recorded greater utilisation (reflecting both public and private use, range from 0 to +55%, median +15%), lower cost per defined daily doses (as commercial data sources used ex-factory price rather than expenditure to the state used in administrative databases, range from -70% to -6%, median -39%) and similar utilisation per 1000 head of population per day (range from -15 to +47%, median -1%).
CONCLUSIONS: Administrative databases can give useful utilisation data, which are broadly comparable with those from commercial sources. Cost data differ more, and the figures for each may be useful in different settings. Standards for data collection from the administrative databases are required.