GPRD has been collecting data since 1987. This does not mean that it only has historical data back as far as 1987, rather that this was the first date from which electronic research data became available. Practices contributing to GPRD were some of the first to go fully electronic and as they made this step they culled key data from the patients’ paper notes into their electronic record.

GPRD is growing in the number of practices contributing data, the number of active patients, the quality of data, the volumes and types of data, the number of publications and the number of users.

GPRD today and its key features

• The most validated of all databases used for drug safety and effectiveness research
• The most published, over 700 peer reviewed publications
• 4.4 million currently active research quality patients
• 55 million person years of research quality data
• Over 9 million research usable number of persons
• Data from over 500 practices
• Generalisable UK wide dataset covering about 7% of the population
• Unique to UK quality control of research available data
• Simplified governance arrangements and access to data
• Available in formats to suit customer and/or study needs
• Research services also available
• Validation of data enabled via pseudonymised key
• Staff employed in UK, USA and Europe
• Recent additions -
  • External record linkage to other NHS datasets
  • Increased availability of free text via new automated system
  • Genetic linkage studies enabled
  • Prospective data collections
  • Randomisation studies enabled