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.
Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic / National Health Information Center
1.2. Contact organisation unit
Department of Population Living Standards Statistics / Program management department
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, Department of Population Living Standards Statistics, Lamačská cesta 3/C, 840 05 Bratislava 45, Slovak Republic
National Health information Center, Lazaretská 26, 811 09 Bratislava 1
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
27 February 2024
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 January 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
28 February 2025
3.1. Data description
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 and regional data are provided in absolute numbers or as a rate of a relevant population.
Data are based mainly on administrative records (see section 18.1 ‘Source data’ for more information).
3.2. Classification system
For the collection of 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.
For Health Employment, the Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications apply.
Definitions of mandatory variables are laid down in Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2294.
Where possible, the statistics are separated by sex (male/female), age group and NUTS2 region.
National deviations: see Annex at the bottom of the page.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Public health.
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
Each variable has a different time period of data coverage. In the part of Health Employment the time period starts at the interval of reference year (1980-2009), Physical resources (1980-2004), Health activities (1990-2018), Eurostat module (1996-2012).
3.9. Base period
Not applicable
Absolute numbers at end of reference period/average number during reference period.
Rate of phenomenon per reference population (e.g. per 100 000 inhabitants).
Calendar year.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Act no. 540/2001 Coll. on State Statistics as amended by later regulations by means of Statistical Office Regulation No.250/2017 Coll. on which basis State Statistical Surveys Programme was published for the years 2018-2020
Act no. 153/2013 Coll. on the National Health Information System and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Laws
Decree of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic no. 10/2014 Coll. on Laying Down List of Statistical Reports in Health System, and Details of Procedure, Methods, Designated Reporting Units and Reporting Deadlines within the Statistical Survey in the Health System and Their Characteristics
Decree of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic no. 44/2014 Coll. on Laying Down Details of Procedure, Methods, Designated Reporting Units and Reporting Deadlines for Identifying Events Characterizing Health Status of the Population and Their Characteristics
Decree of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic no. 74/2014 Coll. on Laying Down List of Reports into National Health Registries, Their Characteristics, Details of the Content of National Health Registers, Procedure, Methods, Range of Reporting Units and Reporting Deadlines to National Health Registries
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Joint Questionnaire on Non-Monetary Health Care Statistics, which is carried by Eurostat, OECD and WHO-Europe.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
At the National Health Information Center level, confidentiality policy fits general statistical rules as stipulated by legislation and used also by other members of the National Statistical System: Act No. 540/2001 Coll. on State Statistics – regulates the conditions for the collection, processing, provision, and protection of statistical data, including the protection of individual data and ensuring their confidentiality. This act applies to all members of the National Statistical System. Link of legislation in Slovak language.
Act No. 153/2013 Coll. on the National Health Information System and on the amendment and supplementation of certain acts – regulates the rules for data management, including data access and protection. Particularly relevant is § 3a, which concerns the provision of anonymized data. Link of legislation in Slovak language.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
At the National Health Information Center level, confidentiality of data is kept in outputs for external clients, using mostly gross granularity of data provided, from the regional point of view, so identity of reporting unit stays uncovered.
8.1. Release calendar
Data produced by the National Health Information Center are released regularly according to the release calendar.
Any data release follows rules on personal and confidential data protection.
Annual
10.1. Dissemination format - News release
Occasionally, data output are communicated on the National Health Information Center level once regular pre-programmed outputs are ready to be published. Information is presented towards experts or general public, in a form of press conference or in a press report.
Quality documentation has not been produced yet on a systematic base.
National Health Information Center has prepared an internal directive that establishes a summary of regulations, activities and rules for ensuring the implementation of the value-creating process of producing statistical outputs from the processing of health statistical data in the National Health Information Center.
11.1. Quality assurance
By adoption of the European Statistics Code of Practice Member States are obliged to provide high quality statistics based on definition of quality statistics of the European Statistical System. Quality is oriented to all important areas - from institutional environment, through the statistical production processes up to the output of official European statistics. Also release and provision of statistical information have to comply with the criteria of the European Statistics Code of Practice, mainly timelines, accuracy, reliability, relevance, clarity, impartiality, objectivity, professional independence, effectivity of using resources.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
At national level there is an effort to work continuously on quality improvements of health care non-expenditure statistics.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
Main users of the health data of the Slovak Republic (except Eurostat and international organisations as WHO and OECD) are: Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic, main experts of the Ministry of Health, other national institutions within the field of health, other ministries, Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, Social Insurance Agency, scientific institutions, universities, public.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
The user satisfaction questionnaire is carried out on an irregular basis. NCZI conducted a satisfaction survey during March–April 2022, and the results were used for internal purposes.
12.3. Completeness
Data for mandatory variables with the first reference year 2023 (according to the Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/2294) are not fully completed (e.g. Health employment: practicing physicians) and similarly the Questionnaire on Health Workforce Migration is not fully completed.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
As about coverage, data collection is designed as exhaustive and response rate is high.
The accuracy and reliability of the data depend on the fulfilment of obligations by cooperating entities, particularly health care providers and other mandatory entities operating within the health sector.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable.
14.1. Timeliness
National data are available about 4 to 6 months after the end of reference year. Final data are published within app. 12 months after the reference year.
14.2. Punctuality
Data are published on time in compliance with the release calendar.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
In the data, there is no problem of comparability between geographical areas in the Slovak Republic.
15.2. Comparability - over time
Data are comparable over time and break in series are described in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
If the National Health Information Center has information about related domains containing related data then the National Health Information Center will analyze the subject and evaluate it according to the circumstances.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Data are consistent. No consistency issues have been detected as yet.
9 724 EUR - direct costs, 3 890 EUR - indirect costs (costs are from 2020, there is currently no cost/burden analysis available for HCNE/JQ data at national level)
17.1. Data revision - policy
Changes processed as part of the revision at the National Health Information Center are partially described in the internal operating regulations and directive.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The published data is considered definitive after the completion of processing of the cleaned data. Changes made in connection with the revision are indicated by a corresponding note on the revised outputs.
18.1. Source data
Source data for the different variables are given in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
Data validation is continuously performed during the entire process of data collection and data processing based on defined procedures in accordance with the European Statistics Code of Practice.
18.5. Data compilation
As the data comes from exhaustive statistical surveys, health status reports and registries, none of the procedures as imputations, weighting, calibration and non-response adjustments were applied.
18.6. Adjustment
The data are adjusted after the final processing only due to a retroactively detected error significantly affecting the statistical outputs.
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 and regional data are provided in absolute numbers or as a rate of a relevant population.
Data are based mainly on administrative records (see section 18.1 ‘Source data’ for more information).
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
Calendar year.
As about coverage, data collection is designed as exhaustive and response rate is high.
The accuracy and reliability of the data depend on the fulfilment of obligations by cooperating entities, particularly health care providers and other mandatory entities operating within the health sector.
Absolute numbers at end of reference period/average number during reference period.
Rate of phenomenon per reference population (e.g. per 100 000 inhabitants).
As the data comes from exhaustive statistical surveys, health status reports and registries, none of the procedures as imputations, weighting, calibration and non-response adjustments were applied.
Source data for the different variables are given in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
Annual
National data are available about 4 to 6 months after the end of reference year. Final data are published within app. 12 months after the reference year.
In the data, there is no problem of comparability between geographical areas in the Slovak Republic.
Data are comparable over time and break in series are described in the Annex at the bottom of the page.
