National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System

The National Prescription Drug Utilization Information System (NPDUIS) is a research initiative established by federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Health in September 2001. It is a partnership between the PMPRB and the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

Its purpose is to provide decision makers with critical information and intelligence on price, utilization, and cost trends, so that Canada’s healthcare system has more comprehensive and accurate information on how medicines are being used and on sources of cost pressures.

NPDUIS Database

The NPDUIS Database houses pan-Canadian information on public drug programs. It contains prescription claims-level data collected from publicly financed drug benefit programs, as well as formulary data, drug product information and information on public drug plan policies.

NPDUIS Advisory Committee

The specific research priorities and methodologies for NPDUIS are established with the guidance of the NPDUIS Advisory Committee.

The Advisory Committee is composed of representatives from public drug plans in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program (NIHB), and Health Canada. It also includes observers from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (MSSS), and the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA) Office.

NPDUIS Research Agenda

The NPDUIS Research Agenda reflects the current analytical priorities identified by the NPDUIS Advisory Committee. NPDUIS analyses are released as published reports, chartbooks, and posters.