Minimum guidelines for health registers for statistical and research purposes

This paper responds to a need identified by the National Health Information Management Group (NHIMG) for a set of guidelines on the establishment, maintenance and coordination of health registers, and on their use for health information analysis and research. It provides guidance to government and other bodies who from time to time consider proposals to auspice, fund or provide some other form of assistance towards the establishment or operation of a health register, and to the proposers themselves. It aims to document good practice for the operation of a health register.The principal objective of the NHIMG is to define a set of guidelines that represent minimum standards for health registers operating at a national or State/Territory level. However, adoption of the guidelines for locally based and service-based registers is encouraged.