Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) is the Crown entity set up to deliver New Zealand's personal injury insurance scheme as set out in the Accident Compensation Act 2001 (the Act). The Act states that the purpose of this scheme is to 'enhance the public good and reinforce the social contract by providing for a fair and sustainable scheme for managing personal injury, minimising both the overall incidence ... and the impact of injury on the community (including economic, social, and personal costs).'
ACC's website
Data collection: Claims Management System (CMS)
Purpose / objective
The CMS data is used to determine an individual’s eligibility for a claim, and which ACC account should fund particular claims. It also facilitates case management, and the process of setting premium levels. The CMS is the most complete and comprehensive source of national statistics on injuries that have not resulted in hospitalisation.
Description of key content, including relevance to injury
The data collection records all claims to ACC that have been accepted under the Act. This includes claims for injuries caused by accidents, occupational overuse conditions, and sexual assault or abuse. For each claim, information is recorded about medical treatment received and the injury incurred. Items recorded include:
- client's personal details
- details of the accident and injury caused
- medical diagnosis
- employment details
- general details such as cover status and claim type
- details of others associated with the claim, such as providers (medical, vocational, or social rehabilitation), employer, or others (eg accountant, lawyer)
- entitlements, transactions, and reimbursements
- records of any contact with the client and/or associated parties, including documents issued or received.
Start date of data collection
Although ACC has been in existence since 1974, data is only readily accessible from 1992 in some areas and later in others. Earlier data is archived and not generally accessible.
Frequency of data collection
Ongoing
Methods of data collection
An ACC claim form (an ACC45) is completed at the first visit to a treatment provider for an injury. Claim forms are entered in the ACC system and assessed. Every claim recorded is given a unique claim number. The claim is never closed, so further treatment for a single injury event can be obtained under the same claim number at any stage.
Description of the injury data collected
Details of the injury, circumstances around injury, medical diagnoses, and treatment. More details are included for serious injury.
Coding system used to classify the injury data
Read Codes, ICD-9, and ICD-10.
Potential weaknesses
ACC only checks the most relevant information for claims where medical fees only are paid out. In these cases other relevant information is not validated or verified. This type of claim makes up approximately 90% of all ACC claims. Aspects of claims for more serious injuries, which receive other entitlements such as payments for time off work or specialised treatment, are checked more stringently as part of the ongoing management of the injury and claim.
Access
Publicly available data
Injury information is available on the ACC website. Specific requests for data can be made to statistics@acc.co.nz.
Links to data and reports
ACC statistics