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GeoStan/Geocoding Frequently Asked QuestionsIntroduction | Contents | General Questions | Patient Register Geocoding | GeoStan NZ Installation | GeoStan Usage/ Geocoding | Configurations | Data UpdatesCritchlow services for the New Zealand Ministry of Health and other Health and Disability Services (H & DS) organisations.
To find out whether you are eligible for Critchlow geocoding services or GeoStan NZ, please contact geostan@critchlow.co.nz with the following details:
If you are a medical centre, we will also require the following:
Once we have your details, we are required to confirm your eligibility with the Ministry of Health, and also confirm your subscription (if you have one) with CMPMedica (NZ) Ltd. (formerly Medimedia (NZ) Ltd.). Critchlow welcomes feedback about any of the services we provide.If you have an issue regarding an address or road that you are unable to find using GeoStan NZ, please contact: geostan@critchlow.co.nz If you are experiencing problems with installing or operating GeoStan NZ, please consult the Frequently asked questions page. If your question is not answered, please contact: techsupport@critchlow.co.nz If you have general feedback regarding GeoStan NZ, geocoding or any other service Critchlow provide, please contact: geostan@critchlow.co.nz FAQ Page:General questionsPatient register geocoding
GeoStan NZ:
Usage/Geocoding
Configurations
Data updates
General questions:What is geocoding?Geocoding is the process of assigning a geographical location (X and Y co-ordinates) to records in a table based on location (eg address) information in a mappable database. This is achieved by matching each record against a referential database. Critchlow are able to take an address and assign X and Y co-ordinates. We are then able to map the address and acquire statistical information from that location. Why do I need geocoding?Once a record is geocoded, statistical information can be acquired. The Ministry of Health’s CBF project uses geocoding to acquire a 1-5 Quintile (a deprivation value that is halved and rounded to the nearest whole number) to determine the area of deprivation for a particular patient. This assists Healthpac in funding a PHO (though this does not determine overall funding). Critchlow are also able to “cleanse” an address once a record is geocoded. We are able to correct spelling, assign a postcode, and map the addresses to give you an indication of where the people in your database are living. Patient register geocoding:What is the process for geocoding patient registers?Critchlow receive, each quarter (March, June, September, December) addresses from each participating PHO from Healthpac. We automatically geocode each PHO’s batch of addresses, perform some QA and then send the data back enhanced with such information as a cleansed address, X & Y co-ordinates and Quintile. Uncertainty Codes are assigned from 0-4 where Critchlow were able to achieve a match, 8-9 where only a location geocode as possible, and 10 where no geocode was possible. What is the correct format for an address?It is important to distinguish between a postal address and a physical address. Critchlow will attempt to find the exact location of an address in a PHO’s register, however if not enough information is provided, a geocode will not be possible. An address should have a street address, a suburb and/or a city. These three elements should be placed in separate fields. Any other information should be placed in another field by itself. A street address must have a street number (example format: 1 Smith Street) in order for Critchlow to achieve an exact match. A patient address has the correct format but it was returned to me for correction by my PHO. What is wrong with it?These are some of the reasons why a correctly formatted address has been returned to you:
Do I have to include a suburb?A suburb is preferable if you live in an urban area, but optional. If no suburb is supplied, there may be duplicate streets found within a city boundary (eg there is more than one Queen Street within the Auckland City region) and it may not be possible to determine the correct street if this is the case. In rural areas, the suburb may be the town name. Do I have to include a city?A city is required and only optional if a suburb has been supplied. Because of duplicate suburb names throughout New Zealand, a valid city helps ensure the correct address is obtained. For example, Avondale is a suburb in Auckland and also a suburb in Christchurch. Also, if you are in a rural area and have supplied a town name, you do not need to include a city. How do I include unit/flat numbers in an address?Units and flats may be entered in the following way: <unit number>-<street address> The following address: 1-3 Cuba Street, Wellington Central, Wellington will be geocoded to: 3 Cuba Street, Wellington Central, Wellington with a unit number of 1. Separators between a unit number and street number allowed by GeoStan NZ are: - (dash), \ (forward slash), / (back slash). Please ensure that there are no spaces between the separator and the flat and house numbers. What abbreviations is an address allowed to have?GeoStan is able to recognise common street type abbreviations such as Ave, Rd, St, Pl, and Cres. For a complete list, see the GeoStan data entry guide that is included on every GeoStan CD. What can I do to ensure a particular address is geocoded?Ensure that is has a street number, a street name that is spelled correctly, a suburb and/or a city. Ensure, if possible, that the road name is the legal name. If an address has all these elements, there is nothing more than can be done to ensure that address is “correct”. If GeoStan is still not geocoding an address, try adding a postcode to the city. Remember that while an address may be correct and mail is delivered to this address, this is no guarantee that it may be geocoded. What are “valid” suburb and city names to use?There is currently no national definition of suburbs. The government maintains a register of official place names, however this does not define the extent of the place or a relationship to other places eg suburbs to cities. When a city council produces a definitive dataset of suburb boundaries (such as Wellington), Critchlow ensure that these changes are reflected in the datasets used for GeoStan NZ. Can I use rural delivery numbers?Rural delivery numbers (eg RD 1, RD 2) are only useful in ensuring mail is delivered correctly. Because there is currently no geographic information relating to these numbers, they are ignored by the geocoding process. What about rapid addressing?For rural addressing, Critchlow use Landonline address points. These are supplied to us by Land Information New Zealand, and it is a nationwide dataset containing individual points for addresses in New Zealand. Land Information New Zealand is only able to include address points where a District Council has notified them of an existing address. Therefore there is no guarantee that a specific rapid number exists in the current data that is used for geocoding. Critchlow receive monthly updates of Landonline address points, therefore data is continually being updated. An address is rural and doesn’t have a city, what do I put in the city field?You may enter into the city column the region name, eg Rodney, Southland. However a lot of towns in New Zealand do not require an entry in the city field to geocode correctly, eg Carterton. How come a street number isn’t recognised by GeoStan when there are clearly houses on that street?The address number may not exist in the data, even if it exists in reality. Critchlow use Land Information New Zealand’s Landonline address points for rural addressing. In turn, LINZ acquire their data from district councils. For every rural address in New Zealand, there should be a corresponding address point, however this is not always the case and there may be some missing. With the implementation of Rapid Addressing, a lot more rural addresses are able to be geococoded. Unfortunately, there is nothing Critchlow can do if a street number does not exist within the rural addressing data. What if I have something like 1a or 2c as the street number?Flat information such as a, b c should be “attached” to the house number, with no spaces between the number and the letter. I have been returned a large number of addresses to correct from my PHO, yet many of them look correct. Why have they been returned?Check for spelling errors. GeoStan scores the changes it makes to an address and assigns an uncertainty code accordingly. The more changes it makes to achieve a match, the higher the uncertainty becomes. In other cases, we may not have the data to geocode a particular address. Why is the suburb returned from GeoStan not the same one that I use on a postal envelope?See question: What are “valid” suburb names
and city names to use? Geostan NZ : InstallationCan I install more than one configuration of GeoStan NZ on the same computer?It is not advisable. Always uninstall GeoStan NZ before installing another version. How do I uninstall GeoStan NZ?You should always remove programs from your computer using the Add/Remove Programs function in your control panel. Click on the start menu, then settings, then control panel. Double click on the Add/Remove Programs and remove all components of GeoStan (Data Install, Deprivation Index Lookups etc) I want to install GeoStan Server/Client on my network but my workstations don’t have CD-ROM drives!GeoStan Workstation is too large to be shipped on floppy disc. Insert the Workstation CD into any PC with a CD-ROM drive, then share that drive so it can be seen over the network. GeoStan NZ Workstation can then be installed over the network. I get a General Exception Error when trying to geocode on my server. What is wrong?This issue has arisen where GeoStan Server is installed on the same PC as Medtech. Because of the relationship between Medtech an dGeoStan, MedTech requires GeoStan Workstation to “talk” to the GeoStan Server. As there is only GeoStan Server installed on the PC, Medtech cannot connect to GeoStan. I’ve installed GeoStan NZ. How do I know if it’s working?To test that GeoStan is working, use the Installation Tester that is installed automatically when installing GeoStan Workstation or GeoStan Standalone. Please note that there is no way to test that GeoStan is working on a Geostan Server PC until Workstation is subsequently installed and tested. You may access the Installation Tester through the green flag icon on your desktop (placed there when GeoStan Workstation or Standalone is installed) or go to: Start >> Programs >> Critchlow >> Geostan NZ Installation Tester. Once the Installation Tester appears on the screen, type in an address and click on [Run Test]. If the Installation Tester reports a SUCCESS when geocoding a record, but you are encountering errors geocoding through your PMS software, please contact your PMS vendor’s help desk. What if the CD does not autorun?When you insert your GeoStan CD into the CD-ROM drive, the installation program should start automatically. If this is not the case, you will have to run the installation program manually. To do so:
I have a Terminal Server setup, what version of GeoStan do I need?Since there is only one server and a farm of dumb terminals, you only require GeoStan Standalone. Your PMS software may not work if you try to install GeoStan Server on your Terminal Server. Geostan NZ : Usage/GeocodingMany of these questions are repeated in the section Geostan NZ : Patient register geocoding. More information regarding GeoStan data entry is contained in the document: GeostanDataEntryGuide.pdf that is available on any GeoStan CD. Why is the suburb returned from GeoStan not the same one that I use on a postal envelope?See question: What are “valid” suburb names and city names to use? Do I have to include a suburb?A suburb is preferable if you live in an urban area, but optional. If no suburb is supplied, there may be duplicate streets found within a city boundary (eg there is more than one Queen Street within the Auckland City region) and it may not be possible to determine the correct street if this is the case. In rural areas, the suburb may be the town name.
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