Data linkage

Patients use different healthcare sources during the course of a disease. To capture
the whole spectrum of healthcare utilisation on a patient level, the PHARMO Database Network combines data from different healthcare settings in the Netherlands. These different data sources (including GP, in- and out-patient pharmacy, clinical laboratory, hospitals, cancer registry, pathology registry and perinatal registry) are linked on a patient level through validated algorithms. Detailed information on the methodology and the validation of the used record linkage method can be found elsewhere^1,2.

Additional data collections, such as data collected from chart reviews, patient-reported outcomes (PRO) or data from an interventional trial among patients in the GP setting can be linked to the data from the PHARMO Database Network. Reporting of the chart review information, PRO or data from an interventional trial among patients in the GP setting will never disclose information traceable to individual patients, in accordance with WMO (Medical research involving human subjects act).

Click here for more information on our PHARMO Database Network and the specific data sources that can be linked.

1. 1. Herings R, Pedersen L. Pharmacy-based Medical Record Linkage Systems. In: Strom B, Kimmel S, Hennessy S, editors. Pharmacoepidemiology. 5 ed: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.; 2012. p. 270-86
2. 2. van Herk-Sukel MP, van de Poll-Franse LV, Lemmens VE, Vreugdenhil G, Pruijt JF, Coebergh JW, et al. New opportunities for drug outcomes research in cancer patients: the linkage of the Eindhoven Cancer Registry and the PHARMO Record Linkage System. Eur J Cancer. 2010;46(2):395-404.