Term: Administrative Data

Glossary Definition

Last Updated: 2013-06-05

Definition:

Administrative data refers to information collected "usually by government, for some administrative purpose (e.g., keeping track of the population eligible for certain benefits, paying doctors or hospitals), but not primarily for research or surveillance purposes" (Spasoff, 1999 - used in Finlayson et al., 2007).

More recently, administrative data is defined as ... data generated through the routine administration of programs. Administrative databases are designed to collect and store this type of data. While not originally intended for research, administrative data can be a rich source of information (Finlayson et al., 2013 and Smith et al. 2013).

The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy collects and maintains de-identified administrative data from several domains, including:

Using these administrative data, researchers can investigate the use and utilization of healthcare resources over time.

For more information, please see the Manitoba Population Research Data Repository (Repository) glossary term.

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