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Published June 3, 2025 | Version 1
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NHIF Bulgaria. Expenditures and Patient Counts for Home Treatment Medicines and Medical Products 2021-2024 (by Region, NHIF Code, and ICD Code)

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Medical University Plovdiv
  • 2. ROR icon D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics
  • 3. Medical University of Plovdiv, Center for Translational Neuroscience

Contributors

  • 1. D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics
  • 2. Medical University of Plovdiv, Center for Translational Neuroscience
  • 3. ROR icon Medical University Plovdiv

Description

📊 Dataset Description

This dataset contains detailed records of pharmaceutical expenditures and patient counts for home treatment in Bulgaria, as reported by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). The data covers all reimbursed medicinal products, medical devices, and dietary foods for special medical purposes.

The data is aggregated at the pharmacy level, nested within Regional Health Insurance Offices (RZOK), and grouped by NHIF reimbursement codes and ICD diagnosis codes.

Temporal Granularity:
Each month is represented by three reporting time points:

  • First 10 days

  • Middle 10 days

  • Final days of the month

This allows for intra-month analysis of dispensing and expenditure patterns, which is useful for identifying trends, delays, or spikes in utilization.

Structure:

  • 📦 Rows: 5,252,372

  • 📁 Columns: 17

  • 📆 Time period: Monthly data, e.g. from April 2021 onward

  • 🌍 Geography: All NHIF regional offices (RZOK), Bulgaria

Variables:

Variable Description
region_num NHIF regional code (2-digit, e.g. 01)
region_name Name of the NHIF regional office (in Bulgarian)
atc_code ATC classification code of the product
atc_name Generic name of the active substance (in Latin)
nhif_code NHIF-specific reimbursement product code
market_name Marketed product name (brand name)
packaging Dosage form and packaging format (e.g. "capsules")
concentration Concentration or dosage per unit (e.g. "20 mg")
num_in_pack Number of units per package (e.g. "x28")
icd_code ICD-10 code of the diagnosed disease (e.g. "K74.3")
icd_name Diagnosis name in Bulgarian
patients_num Number of patients reimbursed for the product during the period
pack_num Number of reimbursed packages
costs Total public expenditure in BGN (Bulgarian leva)
period Internal code used to trace data source batch
date_str Period in compact format (e.g. "apr2021")
date Standardized date value (first day of the month)

Usage Notes:

  • The dataset is aggregated monthly and is suitable for time series analysis, pharmacoepidemiology, regional inequality studies, and health economics research.

  • Product names and diagnoses are in Bulgarian, while ATC codes follow international classification.

  • Data cleaning and harmonization (e.g. standardization of packaging terms) may be required for some analyses.

License:
Unless otherwise restricted by NHIF, this dataset is shared under CC BY 4.0.

Files

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