Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/115531
Title: German primary care data collection projects: a scoping review
Author(s): Moser, Konstantin
Massag, Janka
Frese, ThomasLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Mikolajczyk, RafaelLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Christoph, JanLook up in the Integrated Authority File of the German National Library
Pushpa, Joshi
Straube, Johanna
Unverzagt, Susanne
Issue Date: 2024
Type: Article
Language: English
Abstract: Background: The widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs) has led to a growing number of large routine primary care data collection projects globally, making these records a valuable resource for health services and epidemiological and clinical research. This scoping review aims to comprehensively assess and compare strengths and limitations of all German primary care data collection projects and relevant research publications that extract data directly from practice management systems (PMS). Methods: A literature search was conducted in the electronic databases in May 2021 and in June 2022. The search string included terms related to general practice, routine data, and Germany. The retrieved studies were classified as applied studies and methodological studies, and categorised by type of research, subject area, sample of publications, disease category, or main medication analysed. Results: A total of 962 references were identified, with 241 studies included from six German projects in which databases are populated by EHRs from PMS. The projects exhibited significant heterogeneity in terms of size, data collection methods, and variables collected. The majority of the applied studies (n = 205, 85%) originated from one database with a primary focus on pharmacoepidemiological topics (n = 127, 52%) including prescription patterns (n = 68, 28%) and studies about treatment outcomes, compliance, and treatment effectiveness (n = 34, 14%). Epidemiological studies (n = 77, 32%) mainly focused on incidence and prevalence studies (n = 41, 17%) and risk and comorbidity analysis studies (n = 31, 12%). Only 10% (n = 23) of studies were in the field of health services research, such as hospitalisation. Conclusion: The development and durability of primary care data collection projects in Germany is hindered by insufficient public funding, technical issues of data extraction, and strict data protection regulations. There is a need for further research and collaboration to improve the usability of EHRs for health services and research.
URI: https://opendata.uni-halle.de//handle/1981185920/117485
http://dx.doi.org/10.25673/115531
Open Access: Open access publication
License: (CC BY-NC 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0(CC BY-NC 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
Journal Title: BMJ open
Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
Publisher Place: London
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
Original Publication: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074566
Appears in Collections:Open Access Publikationen der MLU

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