Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38382948›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

German primary care data collection projects: a scoping review.

Konstantin Moser, Janka Massag, Thomas Frese, Rafael Mikolajczyk, Jan Christoph, Joshi Pushpa, Johanna Straube, Susanne Unverzagt

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Konstantin MoserMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Halle, Germany konstantin_moser@web.de.ORCID 0000-0001-8645-4350
Janka MassagMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics, and Informatics, Halle, Germany.
Thomas FreseMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Halle, Germany.
Rafael MikolajczykMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Medical Epidemiology, Biometrics, and Informatics, Halle, Germany.
Jan ChristophMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Junior Research Group (Bio-)Medical Data Science, Halle, Germany.
Joshi PushpaMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Halle, Germany.
Johanna StraubeMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Halle, Germany.
Susanne UnverzagtMedical Faculty of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Halle, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0108-0415

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe 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).

methodsA 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.

resultsA 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.

conclusionThe 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.

Indexed as

Electronic Health RecordsPrimary Health CareComorbidityCross-Sectional StudiesData CollectionHumansGENERAL MEDICINE (see Internal Medicine)Health informaticsPrimary Care

Identifiers

PMID38382948
PMCPMC10882319

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.