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Socialstyrelsen Prescription Drug Register Dataset (2010-2018)

socialstyrelsen_prescribed_drugs.Rd

This dataset contains information about dispensed prescription medications from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register (Läkemedelsregistret) maintained by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). The data covers medications dispensed from September 2010 through December 2018.

Usage

socialstyrelsen_prescribed_drugs()

Format

A data frame with 40,012,858 observations and 10 variables:

patient_id

Numeric. Patient identifier, serves as a foreign key to link with other patient-level data. Original field name: LopNr

dispensation_date

Date. Date when the medication was dispensed to the patient. Date range: 2010-09-17 to 2018-12-31. Original field name: EDATUM

quantity

Numeric. Quantity of medication dispensed. Original field name: ANTAL

atc_code

Character. Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification code for the medication. The ATC system is used for the classification of active ingredients of drugs according to the organ or system on which they act and their therapeutic, pharmacological and chemical properties. Original field name: ATC

ddd_per_package

Numeric. Defined Daily Doses (DDD) per package. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. Original field name: forpddd

strength_text

Character. Text description of medication strength (e.g., "25 mg"). Original field name: styrkalf

strength_numeric

Numeric. Numeric value of the medication strength. Original field name: styrknum

strength_unit

Character. Unit of measurement for the medication strength (e.g., "mg", "mikrog"). Original field name: styrkaenhet

substance_name

Character. Name of the active pharmaceutical substance. Contains NA values where generic names are not available. Original field name: subnamn

year

Numeric. Calendar year of the dispensation. Original field name: AR

Source

Socialstyrelsen (National Board of Health and Welfare), Läkemedelsregistret (Swedish Prescribed Drug Register)

Details

This dataset contains information about dispensed medications from Swedish pharmacies. It includes details about the type of medication (via ATC code), dosage, strength, and when it was dispensed. The data can be used to analyze medication patterns, adherence, and treatment approaches for patients in the study cohort.

The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system is maintained by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. The first level of the code indicates the anatomical main group (e.g., C for cardiovascular system), the second level indicates the therapeutic subgroup, and so on.

Note

  • This dataset covers dispensed medications from September 2010 through December 2018

  • The substance_name field has missing values for some entries, likely for combination products or where specific generic names are not applicable

  • Defined Daily Dose (DDD) values can be used to estimate medication consumption and compare drug utilization between different medications

  • The strength information is provided in both text format (strength_text) and as separate numeric value (strength_numeric) and unit (strength_unit) fields

  • All data comes from the Swedish Prescribed Drug Register, which contains information on all prescribed drugs dispensed at Swedish pharmacies since July 2005