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BDM (Deaths)/ MSD Deceased Persons Programme

• Annual Report
• Technical information
• System description
• Historical activity

Annual Report

Purpose:  To identify current clients who have died, so that MSD can cease making payments in a timely fashion.

Year commenced: 2004

Features:  Data transferred each week by online transfer.

BDM disclosure to MSD: BDM provides death information for the week prior to the extract date.  The death details include the full name, gender, birth date, death date, home address, death registration number and spouse's full name.

2008/09 activity:

New match runs started in the reporting period

Match runs	52
Records received for matching	29,457
Possible matches identified	8,589

All match runs active in the reporting period

Matches that required no further action	6,418
Notices of adverse action	2,171
Challenges	0
Overpayments established	459
Value of overpayments established	$330,203

A big drop in the number of possible matches identified was a result of improvements to the match filtering process introduced in November 2008. However, the number of notices of adverse action and overpayments established remained about the same as the 2007/08 year.

Compliance: Compliant.

Technical information

Information matching provision	Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995, s.78A
Year authorised	2001
Programme type	Confirming eligibility
On-line transfers	Yes

System description

BDM provides MSD with a weekly extract of death information. Each record of a deceased person includes the full name, gender, date of birth, date of death, home address and spouse's name. To retrieve the BDM file, MSD accesses the DIA web server via the Government Logon Service (GLS) using an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. The extracted data is matched against current copies of most of MSD's databases, including SWIFTT and SAL, which are held in MSD's data warehouse.

The information elements used for the matching include surname, first name and date of birth. The matching algorithm produces positive matches that are weighted[1] to indicate the probability that an MSD client is the person on the deaths register. The resulting match output is transferred onto the NDMC's case management system, AIMOS. Specialist Data Matching Officers (DMOs) check the apparent match and send out notices of adverse action (s.103 notices) before contacting the relevant areas of MSD to end the services being provided to the deceased person.

Historical activity 

2004/05

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

New match runs started in the reporting period

Match runs	43	52	52	53
Records compared	22,966	27,697	28,923	29,510
Client cases	18,759	22,953	24,147	24,505

All match runs active in the reporting period

Legitimate cases[2]	17,565	21,287	22,176	22,436
Notices of adverse actions	1,229	1,671	2,002	2,069
Overpayments established (number)	484	668	649	481
Overpayments established	$256,747	$385,728	$400,786	$350,481
Challenges	8	4	3	2
Successful challenges	5	1	0	1

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[1] Results are weighted using a matching level scale of one to nine with one being an exact match on all matching criteria and level nine being BDM first name matches any MSD given name, or MSD first name matches any BDM given name.
[2] Legitimate cases are those that require no further action by NDMC as cancellation of services has already been completed by other departments within MSD.