Working with MBS and PBS data September 2026

The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) are valuable data resources with untapped potential to identify and monitor patterns of health service use and inform health service planning.

In this course participants will gain:

• An introduction to datasets

• Advice on dealing with some of their specific characteristics

• View worked examples of how datasets can be used.

Who should attend?

This course, delivered over two 3‑hour sessions, has been designed to meet the needs of researchers, policy makers and health service/program planners who have an interest in using the MBS and PBS data for linked data research, such as, the Sax Institute’s 45 and Up Study or similar, to drive policy and practice change.

The course does not assume prior experience with MBS or PBS, but some knowledge of other routinely collected health datasets (for example, hospital data) is desirable. This course will be useful for both ‘hands-on’ statistical data users as well as managers/planners who contribute to study design and interpret findings but do not use data directly.

Content

This course includes the following topics:

• Why analyse MBS and PBS data and the different data cuts available

• What information is captured, and which people are included in the datasets

• Common elements in MBS and PBS data

• What can and cannot be measured using MBS and PBS data

• Peculiarities of the datasets

• How to choose the right codes, people, and study periods

• General advice for analysing MBS and PBS data, analysing aggregate data

• A case study for analysing individual-level data from multiple datasets.

Sessions

Session 1 – Tuesday 1 September 2026, 9.30am-12.30pm

Why analyse MBS and PBS data; different data cuts available; what information is captured in these datasets; which people are included in these datasets; common elements in MBS and PBS data; what can and cannot be measured using MBS and PBS data.

Session 2 – Tuesday 8 September 2026, 9.30am-12.30pm

Peculiarities of the datasets; how to choose the right codes, people, and study periods; general advice for analysing MBS and PBS data; analysing aggregate data; a case study for analysing individual-level data from multiple datasets.

Workshop cost

Early bird price: $720 + GST + Humanitix fee. Available until 5pm, 1 August 2026

General admission: $800 + GST + Humanitix fee. 

Find out more

Please contact Cat van Kemenade (cat.kemenade@saxinstitute.org.au) for more information.