Outputs and Growth of Primary Care Databases in the United Kingdom: Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Background Electronic health database (EHD) data are increasingly used by researchers. The major United Kingdom EHDs are the 'Clinical Practice Research Datalink' (CPRD), 'The Health Improvement Network' (THIN) and 'QResearch'. Over time, outputs from these databases have increased but have not been evaluated. Objective This study compares research outputs from CPRD, THIN and QResearch assessing growth and publication outputs over a 10-year period (2004-2013). CPRD was also reviewed separately over 20 years as a case study. Methods Publications from CPRD and QResearch were extracted using the Science Citation Index of the Thomson Scientific Institute for Scientific Information (Web of Science). THIN data were obtained from University College London and validated in the Web of Science. All databases were analysed for growth in publications, the speciality areas and the journals in which their data have been published. Results These databases collectively produced 1,296 publications over a tenyear period, with CPRD representing 63.6% (n = 825 papers), THIN 30.4% (n = 394) and QResearch 5.9% (n = 77). Pharmacoepidemiology and General Medicine were the most common specialities featured. Over the 9-year period (2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013), publications for THIN and QResearch have slowly increased over time, whereas CPRD publications have increased substantially in the last 4 years with almost 75% of CPRD publications published in the past 9 years. Conclusion These databases are enhancing scientific research and are growing yearly, however display variability in their growth. They could become more powerful research tools if the National Health Service and general practitioners can provide accurate and comprehensive data for inclusion in these databases.

Development of Primary Care Research in North America, Europe, and Australia From 1974 to 2017

“…These include the importance of PC in the health care system and universities; training and funding of PC researchers; strong professional and academic colleges; structuring of a national data collection network; structuring of PC research teams; favorable conditions for publishing in English; and international research networks and cooperation. [8][9][10] The types of PC codes vary among countries, and comparison is limited by the existence of different types of health care organizations. Our results may reflect a degree of error if the publications are coded with disease names or categories of care populations.…”

Adherence to guidelines in management of symptoms suggestive of heart failure in primary care

“…CPRD is widely used in research30 and is representative of the UKpopulation in age, sex and ethnicity 14. HES covers all NHS hospitals in England, with highly accurate coding of primary diagnoses 31.…”

In this issue: tools and processes that translate knowledge into practice

“…Chaudhry et al10 report on this growth over time. Three principal UK data sources have been the major source of research studies over time.…”