Contents of free text entry for self-reported medications field 20003
Hello,
I understand that NHS provided medication records only go up to 2016/2017, and that self-reported medication is available after that. I see that many thousands of entries are categorized as “free text entry” because the coding scheme has not been updated since 2010. Are the contents of these free text entries available, or only the fact that there was a free text entry?
If so, what is the field/data access pattern to pull these free text entries? I'm specifically looking for any data related to GLP-1 RA injectable medications (semaglutide or tirzepatide), which have not been available in the UK market until 2019 or so. Thanks!
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Hi James,
Thank you for your question.
The contents of the free text entries for self-reported medication are not available to researchers. There is ongoing work to map relevant free-text to a medication coding list where possible. This data will then be made available to researchers in a future data release (possibly Q4 2026). Any drugs released onto the UK market after the coding scheme was last updated in 2010, such as the GLP-1 agonists, will currently be recorded within the free text. These will be mapped and subsequently available to researchers but are currently not available. The coding lists used at the assessment centres to record self-reported medication will also be updated so that, in the future, newer drugs can be selected rather than being recorded as free text.
Further information on the self-reported medication can be found in this article.
Thank you for your question, we hope this has been helpful.
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