Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Statistics on healthcare non-expenditure provide information on healthcare human resources, healthcare facilities, and healthcare utilisation.
The people active in the healthcare sector (doctors, dentists, nurses, etc.) and their status (graduates, practising, migration of doctors and nurses, etc.);
The available healthcare technical resources and facilities (hospital beds, beds in residential care facilities, medical technology, etc.);
The health activities or patient contacts undertaken (hospital discharges, surgical procedures, ambulatory care data, etc.).
Annual national data are provided in absolute numbers or as a rate of a relevant population.
Data are mainly based on administrative records (see section 18.1 ‘Source data’ for more information).
Available data on health employment, healthcare activities and physical resources are based on annual reports from public health facilities submitted to the IPH-MNE which are then controlled and processed according to the national legal framework on health data collections.
3.2. Classification system
For the collection data on healthcare non- expenditure, the classifications used in the System of Health Accounts (SHA) and its related set of International Classification for the Health Accounts are applied.
National deviations: see Annex at the bottom of the page.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Most data only cover public sector.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The healthcare non-expenditure statistics describe the public health sector from a non-monetary perspective. The statistics explain the number or rate of different healthcare resources, facilities and utilisations. A wide range of indicators are collected from a multitude of sources and therefore, details pertaining to individual variables are given in the Annex.
Definitions of mandatory variables are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2294.
National changes of statistical concepts and national definitions deviating from Regulation (EU) 2022/2294: see Annex at the bottom of the page.
3.5. Statistical unit
Registered health professionals or health care facility categories.
3.6. Statistical population
All health care staff;
All available beds or equipment in hospitals or in nursing and residential care facilities;
All discharges or procedures performed in all hospitals.
3.7. Reference area
Complete national territory.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Statistics on healthcare non-expenditure provides information on healthcare human resources, healthcare facilities and healthcare utilization:
Healthcare employment - most of the provided data (with some exceptions) are available yearly from the year 2005 onwards.
Physical resources - most of the data (with some exceptions) are available yearly, e.g. hospitals from 2002, hospital beds by function from the year 2018 onwards.
Health activities - most of the data (with some exceptions) are available yearly, from the year 2005 onwards for consultations, immunizations and hospital aggregates, while from 2018 onwards for screening programs, depending on the cycle year of screening starting.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Data are provided in absolute number or as a rate of the reference population.
Data refer mostly to December 31 for health employment, then academic year for graduates, or calendar year for health care activities. Seasonal data are provided for immunization and cycle year for screening programms.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Joint Questionnaire on Non-Monetary Health Care Statistics, which is carried by Eurostat, OECD and WHO-Europe.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Statistical confindentiality policy is defined by the Official Statistics Act and by the legal framework on health data collection.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Data confidentiality is defined by the national legal framework on health data collection (Official Gazette 80/08) and by the legal act on personal data protection.
Data exchange within integral health information system is defined by the rulebook on access and data exchange respecting rules of confindentiality and rights on data access.
8.1. Release calendar
Data are published on the IPH-MNE website and Statistical Office of MNE according to the defined deadline for Health Statistics Yearbook (end of the current year for the data processed two years ago) and for Statistical Yearbook (end of the current year for the previous year).
8.2. Release calendar access
For all health care reports/surveys included in the official national statistical program and annual statistics plans, realease calendar is available on the website of the Statistical Office of MNE. For more specific health care data, access is provided on the IPH - MNE website (Health Statistics Yearbook).
8.3. Release policy - user access
Almost all health care data are published on the IPH and/or SO-MNE website, but according to the legal framework on health data collection, more detailed data can be provided for potential users.
Data are partly disseminated online through the statistical publications of the IPH-MNE or Statistical Office, while some data are disseminated by the excel files off-line.
Data are disseminated by the Eurostat dissemination database.
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access
Microdata access available upon request for the epidemiological research and other purposes (i.e. for evidence based medical facts), according to the legal framework for health data collections.
10.5. Dissemination format - other
Regular reports (i.e. for human resources) or analitical documents on health care utilizations for some kind of data.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
Documentation on methodology is not always available on-line, but as a printed copy prepared by the IPH-MNE and submitted to the health care facilities (i.e. reporting forms with data description, coding, instructions for filling). For some reports methodology instructions are implemented through the integral health information system.
The health data are based on a regulation, which defines scope, definitions of variables and characteristics of the data.
There are clear and detailed guidelines for recording and reporting data on healthcare resources, and healthcare utilization.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Statistical indicators are evaluated comparing values with the results of the previous year. Outstanding values of indicators are identified and analyzed. In the event of significant deviations, the data provider shall be contacted and the reasons for the deviation explained.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Potential users are government organizations (Ministry of Health, Statistical Office, other ministries, etc.), NGOs, community offices, diferent agencies, media, academic and research community, individuals, international organizations.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
There are no up-to-date available national data on user satisfaction, although there are general user satisfaction surveys within ISO quality standards occassionaly.
Eurostat carries out an annual User satisfaction survey on a central level, see the latest results.
12.3. Completeness
Completeness depends on available data in accordance with the national framework for health data collection. Yet, there is no national registry on human resources in health, but only reporting on human resources from public sector on annual basis. Therefore, some data are not currently available.
Although not publicly available, upon users request, some data and indicators are extracted from existing health statistics system with additional effort and undertaken analysis and presentations.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Accuracy, in general depends on the accuracy of the main sources of data, which are mostly administrative. There is no mechanism of direct data control and therefore data derived from administrative sources are accepted as mostly accurate.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
Data are usually available by the end of March current year for health employment in the previous year, but for the other reports the time frame is end of June for the preliminary results from the previous year (i.e. consultations, hospital capacities). Regularly, health statistics data are available publicly through the IPH-MNE website by the end of current year for the period of two years ago, and a certain set of health data is available publicly through the website of the SO (Monstat) by the end of current year for the previous year.
14.2. Punctuality
IPH-MNE prepares the data reports according to the annual statistical plan and in accordance with the national framework for health care and health data collection. Potential reasons for periodiccal delay are limited human and tehnical capacities.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Almost all administrative data derive from the same data sources and belong to one integrated public health system, thus providing comparability on the level of comunities.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Comparability over time depends on certain breaks in time series more due to the changes in definition and inclusion of some data categories in variables (see Annex at the bottom of the page for more details).
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Most often health data are collected only by IPH-MNE. In some cases there are differences in values between data sources, but the methodologies, purposes and periodicity for data collections most often are not the same, and the overal coherence could be acceptable.
15.4. Coherence - internal
The data are consistent.
Cost for data collection and overal legal health statistics is covered by the governmental budget. Burden of data collection and reporting is reduced by the development and implementation of the integral health information system and health statistics information system.
17.1. Data revision - policy
There is no official data revision policy on national level. Some revisions are possible depending on the changes in methodology or due to quality issues.
17.2. Data revision - practice
There is no systematic revision, but in case of possible revision, it should be noted in the publication.
18.1. Source data
Source data for the different variables are given in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Annual for most variables.
18.3. Data collection
Administrative data are collected from health facilities acoording to the legal framework on health data collection by which the IPH-MNE is the main administrator of health data collection and overall health statistics. Reports on human resources are collected from health facilities directly, while data from primary health care, general and special hospitals are mostly collected through the integral health information system. Some other institutions (i.e. Clinical Center) send regularly statistical reports to the IPH-MNE for further processing.
18.4. Data validation
Comparing statistical data with previous years and investigating reasons for potential non-logical or other types of observed errors.
18.5. Data compilation
Absolute numbers on national level are the sum of the data reported from the health facilities.
18.6. Adjustment
No adjustment for administrative data defined by the legal framework. Some adjustment are possible for the data from other sources outside health sector due to non reliable all data categories.
Statistics on healthcare non-expenditure provide information on healthcare human resources, healthcare facilities, and healthcare utilisation.
The people active in the healthcare sector (doctors, dentists, nurses, etc.) and their status (graduates, practising, migration of doctors and nurses, etc.);
The available healthcare technical resources and facilities (hospital beds, beds in residential care facilities, medical technology, etc.);
The health activities or patient contacts undertaken (hospital discharges, surgical procedures, ambulatory care data, etc.).
Annual national data are provided in absolute numbers or as a rate of a relevant population.
Data are mainly based on administrative records (see section 18.1 ‘Source data’ for more information).
Available data on health employment, healthcare activities and physical resources are based on annual reports from public health facilities submitted to the IPH-MNE which are then controlled and processed according to the national legal framework on health data collections.
28 February 2025
The healthcare non-expenditure statistics describe the public health sector from a non-monetary perspective. The statistics explain the number or rate of different healthcare resources, facilities and utilisations. A wide range of indicators are collected from a multitude of sources and therefore, details pertaining to individual variables are given in the Annex.
Definitions of mandatory variables are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2294.
National changes of statistical concepts and national definitions deviating from Regulation (EU) 2022/2294: see Annex at the bottom of the page.
Registered health professionals or health care facility categories.
All health care staff;
All available beds or equipment in hospitals or in nursing and residential care facilities;
All discharges or procedures performed in all hospitals.
Complete national territory.
Data refer mostly to December 31 for health employment, then academic year for graduates, or calendar year for health care activities. Seasonal data are provided for immunization and cycle year for screening programms.
Accuracy, in general depends on the accuracy of the main sources of data, which are mostly administrative. There is no mechanism of direct data control and therefore data derived from administrative sources are accepted as mostly accurate.
Data are provided in absolute number or as a rate of the reference population.
Absolute numbers on national level are the sum of the data reported from the health facilities.
Source data for the different variables are given in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
Annual.
Data are usually available by the end of March current year for health employment in the previous year, but for the other reports the time frame is end of June for the preliminary results from the previous year (i.e. consultations, hospital capacities). Regularly, health statistics data are available publicly through the IPH-MNE website by the end of current year for the period of two years ago, and a certain set of health data is available publicly through the website of the SO (Monstat) by the end of current year for the previous year.
Almost all administrative data derive from the same data sources and belong to one integrated public health system, thus providing comparability on the level of comunities.
Comparability over time depends on certain breaks in time series more due to the changes in definition and inclusion of some data categories in variables (see Annex at the bottom of the page for more details).
