Researchers can apply for data access directly to PHNs or they can approach Outcome Health with research queries. Final access approval for any subsets of de-identified general practice data, will be granted under PHN consent. For information on the approval process, please send your queries to research@outcomehealth.org.au.
Outcome Health’s research and consultancy platform, provides an ethics-based ecosystem which supports and facilitates primary care research and innovation.
PHNs have oversight of the de-identified data sourced from constituent practices and must approve data release. POLAR advocates for translational research with tangible and translatable benefit to PHNs, GPs and our communities.
Scaled national coverage
In partnership with PHNs, POLAR manages one of the few comprehensive general practice datasets in Australia. The dataset consists of privacy-protected, de-identified mapped and codified electronic medical records, extracted from thousands of participating practices across Australia.
Not for Profit
At Outcome Health, our independent governance framework ensures data is only provided for research activities with a clearly articulated translational plan to improve health outcomes for local communities in Australia. Under our governance model data is only released with PHN consent.
Ethics approval by the RACGP
Since August 2017, POLAR maintains ethics approval granted by the RACGP National Research and Evaluation Ethics Committee, for the collection, storage, and transfer of general practice data.
Projects must undergo individual ethics review prior to data access.
Apply for access
Research projects approved by PHNs
PHNs involved with POLAR have high exposure and engagement with research activity and can drive evidence-based change in their local areas. For a complete list of projects, please contact research@outcomehealth.org.au.
General practice is a critical point of immunisation for a large proportion of the Australian population. This project will benefit GPs, PHNs, the community cared for by them, and the health system by helping to identify unsafe vaccines as early as possible and providing confidence vaccine safety is being closely monitored. Ethics approval – Monash Health Human Ethics Research Committee Ref No RES-18-0000-232A)
Publications:
Shetty AN, Morgan HJ, Phuong LK, Mallard J, Vlasenko D, Pearce C, Crawford NW, Buttery JP, Clothier HJ. Audiovestibular adverse events following COVID-19 vaccinations. Vaccine. 2024 Mar 19;42(8):2011-2017. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.02.051. Epub 2024 Feb 22. PMID: 38395721.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38395721/
Shetty A, Sepulveda Kattan G, Javed M, Pearce C, Clothier H, Buttery J Menstrual cycle changes increased following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination: Social media validation and self-controlled case series analysis medRxiv 2023.10.26.23297643
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.26.23297643v1.full-text
Australia has the 8th highest opioid prescribing rate in the world. Mortality from pharmaceutical opioids has doubled over the last decade. Using GP data linked with local hospital service data, this project contributes to knowledge about opioid use patterns while identifying risk areas around opioid supply and analysing the impacts of opioid-related policy decisions on prescribing. Ethics approval – Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee (Ref No: 24139)
Publications
Nielsen S, Buchbinder R, Pearce C, et al. Cohort profile: Using primary care data to understand Opioid Prescribing, Policy Impacts and Clinical Outcomes (OPPICO) in Victoria, Australia. BMJ Open 2023;13:e067746. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2022-067746
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/5/e067746
Jung M, Xia T, Ilomäki J, Pearce C, Aitken A, Nielsen S Predictors of persistent opioid use in Australian primary care: a retrospective cohort study, 2018–2022, Pain Medicine, Volume 25, Issue 12, December 2024, Pages 748–757
https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnae071
Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and in Australia accounts for over $4.8 billion spent on treatments. Patients with low back pain often receive low-value care that is not supported by evidence with a 25% increase in hospitalisations for low back pain in the past 10 years.
This study will trial a media-led intervention that includes evidence-based information on the management of low back pain (LBP), distributed and broadcasted at point-of-care in general practices, to change patient beliefs about LBP. Effectiveness will be measured in terms of patients’ beliefs and attitudes about LBP. Additionally, the study will evaluate the delivery of care at a practice level to determine if the media-led intervention leads to changes in practice (i.e., prescriptions for opioid medication, referrals for medical imaging and Specialists). Read more here.
Ethics approval – Northern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (Ref: 2022/ETH01928).
One in four adults aged >40 will develop Atrial Fibrillation (AF) in their lifetime. It is an important health problem associated with a 5-fold increase in stroke, more often disabling or fatal. While AF may give rise to palpitations or other symptoms, there are frequently none, especially in older people with the highest risk of stroke. The primary objective of this study is to determine if screening for AF is effective at reducing stroke (both ischaemic and haemorrhagic) compared to usual care and to quantify other potential benefits and harms of screening. Read more here.
Ethics approval – The University of Sydney Human Research Ethics Committee (Ref No 2021/825)
A list of publications to date is available here.
“The Outcome Health team has been immensely helpful and insightful around explaining the dataflows and structure of the database, such that WVPHN analysts are already starting to realise new insights not previously possible.”
Manager Health Intelligence & Analytics
Western Victoria PHN
Primary Health Networks
Outcome Health’s POLAR platform provide PHNs easy-to-use tools to visualise and monitor key health and services access trends, providing insights for planning activities, project development, and evaluation.
General Practice
Outcome Health’s POLAR GP is a modern web-based clinical intelligence tool, designed to support GP’s in providing the best patients-focused care, as well as optimising their business output.