13 August 2024
Peter Russell
[FYI request #27568 email]
Tēnā koe Peter
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00055917
Thank you for your email, transferred from Ministry of Health to Health New Zealand | Te
Whatu Ora on 15 July 2024, asking for the following under the Official Information Act 1982
(the Act):
•
Please provide me with the number of cases of tachycardia and the number of cases
of tachypnoea recorded in New Zealand annually since 2013.
Response
Health NZ does not hold national level data on the total number of cases of tachycardia and
tachypnoea in New Zealand. However, we do hold information on the numbers of
hospitalisations where tachycardia was recorded as the primary diagnosis. This data does not
include people who had the condition but did not receive treatment for the condition in a
hospital.
The hospital events data we hold is coded using the International Statistical Classification of
Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). The ICD includes the following two relevant
clinical codes for tachycardia:
1. I47 Paroxysmal tachycardia
2. R00.0 Tachycardia, unspecified
Please refer to
Appendix 1 for publicly funded hospital discharges where ‘R00.0 Tachycardia,
unspecified’ was recorded as the primary diagnosis, and
Appendix 2 for publicly funded
hospital discharges where ‘I47 Paroxysmal tachycardia’ was recorded as the primary
diagnosis. The appendices also provide rates per 100,000 population, age-standardised to the
World Health Organisation (WHO) world standard population.
The 2020/2021 financial year is the latest full year for which complete national level hospital
events data for this condition has been compiled. We can provide data to the 2021/22 year in
November 2024. For later data, we must refuse pursuant to section 18(g) of the Act, as we do
not hold it, and have no reason to believe is held by any other agency subject to the Act.
Please note that hospital discharge data codes relate to conditions, not symptoms. This
means that where tachycardia is a symptom of another condition it wil not be reported in the
data provided to Health NZ.
Please also note some of the increase shown between 1999 and 2013 is likely related to
changes in short stay Emergency Department (ED) reporting. More information on this can be
found here:
www.health.govt.nz/publication/factsheet-short-stay-emergency-department-events.
While we have reviewed the provisional data presented in our response, it has not undergone
full quality assurance. This means the data could have unexpected errors that may be picked
up through the rigorous data quality checks that publication datasets undergo.
Published data may also differ from the provisional data presented here. Published data
should be considered the most accurate source and used where possible.
Regarding tachypnoea, this is coded under ‘R06.8 Other and unspecified abnormalities of
breathing’. This code is not specific enough to identify only cases of tachypnoea, as other
breathing conditions would also be reported to this code.
It is possible that information which could specifically identify tachypnoea would be held on
individual patient files, however, to provide this information would divert personnel from their
core duties and we would need to allocate additional resources to complete this task. The
diversion of these resources would impair our ability to carry out our other core functions. We
are therefore refusing this part of your request pursuant to section 18(f) of the Act for reasons
of substantial collation and research.
We have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending the
timeframe for response would enable Health NZ to respond, however, we do not consider that
either option would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other
operations.
If you are interested in data on tachypnoea hospitalisations for newborn babies, there is a
code in the ICD system which can identify tachypnoea specifically for babies. You can request
this information by emaili
ng [email address] o
r [email address]. How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz
or by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may
proactively release a copy of this response on our website. Al requester data, including your
name and contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Gaynor Bradfield
Group Manager, Business Support
Data and Digital
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
