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AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND WELFARE (AIHW)


NAME OF COLLECTION

Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS–NMDS)


OVERVIEW

The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Services National Minimum Data Set (AODTS–NMDS) is a nationally agreed set of common data items collected by all in-scope service providers, collated by relevant health authorities and compiled into a national data set by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

The AODTS–NMDS is an annual collection that commenced on 1 July 2000. The collection was implemented to monitor and evaluate key objectives of the National Drug Strategy and assist in the planning, management and quality improvement of alcohol and other drug treatment services. In general, it aims to provide ongoing information on the demographics of clients who use these services, the treatment they receive, and administrative information about the agencies that provide alcohol and other drug treatment.

The Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs AODTS–NMDS Working Group is responsible for the ongoing development and maintenance of the national collection. The Working Group has representatives from the Australian Government, each state and territory government, the AIHW, the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre. The AIHW is the data manager and custodian for the national data set and performs a coordinating role as national secretariat to the collection.


SCOPE

The agencies, treatment activities and clients that are included in the AODTS–NMDS collection are as follows:

• All publicly funded (at state, territory and/or Australian Government level) government and non-government agencies that provide one or more specialist alcohol and/or other drug treatment services, excluding correctional institutions, halfway houses, sobering-up shelters and agencies whose sole function is to provide opioid pharmacotherapy treatment or whose main function is health promotion (e.g. needle and syringe programs). Specialist alcohol and drug units based in acute care hospitals or psychiatric hospitals are included if they provide treatment to non-admitted patients (i.e. outpatient services)
• All clients (aged 10 years and over) who complete one or more treatment episodes at an alcohol and other drug treatment service that is in scope during the financial year of the collection

• Establishment identifier
• Establishment type
• Geographic location of establishment

• Client type (whether seeking treatment for own or other’s drug issue)
• Country of birth
• Date of birth
• Date of cessation of treatment episode for alcohol and other drugs
• Date of commencement of treatment episode for alcohol and other drugs
• Indigenous status
• Injecting drug use status
• Main treatment type for alcohol and other drugs
• Method of use for principal drug of concern
• Other drugs of concern
• Other treatment type for alcohol and other drugs
• Person identifier
• Preferred language
• Principal drug of concern
• Reason for cessation of treatment episode for alcohol and other drugs
• Sex
• Source of referral to alcohol and other drug treatment service
• Treatment delivery setting for alcohol and other drugs