📌 Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) – United Kingdom 🇬🇧

🔍 What is it?

The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) is one of the most comprehensive primary care databases in the UK, managed by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It collects electronic health records (EHRs) from a network of general practitioners (GPs) using Vision and EMIS systems, offering high-quality real-world data (RWD) for epidemiological, clinical, and pharmacoepidemiological research.

📊 Key Features & Scope

📍 Geographical coverage: United Kingdom 🇬🇧
🏥 Data type: Primary care EHRs, with linkage to hospital, mortality, and socioeconomic datasets
🕒 Time coverage: Since 1987, with ongoing updates
👥 Population covered: Over 60 million patients, with ~16 million currently active in the system
🔄 Longitudinal data: Allows detailed patient history tracking over decades
📈 Pathologies: Broad disease coverage, with strong representation for cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, cancer, respiratory diseases, and mental health disorders

✅ Strengths & Best Use Cases

🌍 Large, nationally representative dataset – Covers patients across the UK, enhancing generalizability
💊 Drug utilization & safety – Extensive prescription records for studying medication adherence, effectiveness, and adverse effects
📈 Longitudinal patient follow-up – Enables tracking of disease progression and treatment outcomes over time
🏥 Data linkage potential – Can be linked to secondary care, mortality, and socioeconomic data for richer insights
🚀 Epidemiological research – Widely used for disease burden studies and health policy assessments

⚠️ Limitations & Considerations

🏥 Variable hospital/specialist data availability – Requires linkage approval for full secondary care insights
📉 Data quality depends on GP recording – Some conditions may be underreported if not managed at the primary care level

📚 How to Access & Learn More

🔗 Access: Requires research proposals to be approved by CPRD
🎓 Publications: here
📄 More info: CPRD