Example research study proposals and appropriate route of data access guided by flow chart (Fig 2)
| Question: How many prescriptions of statins were issued by my GP practice last month? |
| Method: Access these data directly from NHS Digital6 or openprescribing.net.7 |
| Question: How many repeat prescriptions did my GP practice refuse to fulfil last month? |
| Method: Submit Freedom of Information request in writing to the GP practice.8 |
| Question: What impact has a local advertising campaign had on the number of patients using an electronic prescribing service (EPS)? |
| Method: Approach data controller at a local GP practice, and a similar GP practice out of scope of the campaign, and sign a data-sharing agreement to compare the two practices.9 |
| Question: What impact has a national advertising campaign had on the number of patients using an EPS? |
| Method: Ask the CPRD for access to relevant data across multiple practices for analysis. 10 |
| Question: Can we predict a patient’s likelihood for hospital admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on their compliance with repeat prescriptions? |
| Method: Apply to NHS Digital through DARS to link hospital episode statistics to patient prescribing data in the community.11 |