Data linkages of publically available anonymous administrative data provide the opportunity for Victoria to obtain large-scale population level evidence of factors affecting aged and health care delivery to older Victorians. VALiD will provide a map of the aged care pathway for Victorians entering the system and will be invaluable in informing policy and practice. For example, linking PBS data with Aged Care Data makes it possible to assess changes in prescribing habits and the impact of policy changes for chemical restraint of residents in aged care.

Establishing this linked data set provides the opportunity to support, inform and identify priorities within the Victorian Department of Health (DH) initiatives Health 2040: advancing health, access and care and the Ageing Well Framework.

The data will help us to understand the ways older Victorians engage with health and aged care services. In addition, we will be able to stratify the data by the determinants of health, including:

• Social (e.g. living arrangements, social isolation)
• Cultural (e.g. language, religion)
• Medical (e.g. disease burden, frailty, falls risk).

This information creates a robust framework for identifying priorities for intervention.