IJPDS International Journal of Population Data Science

A new data resource profile published in the International Journal of Population Data Science (IJPDS) introduces the Enhanced Prescribing Database (EPD), a unique resource supporting research on health and healthcare across the population of Northern Ireland.

The EPD brings together information on all publicly funded prescriptions dispensed through community pharmacies in Northern Ireland. Because prescriptions are free of charge, the database captures a near complete picture of prescribing across the population. Since 2010, it has recorded more than 44 million prescribed items each year for a population of around 1.9 million people.

The profile provides the first comprehensive guide to the EPD. It explains what the database contains, how it is created, the quality and completeness of the data, and how approved researchers can access de-identified records securely through Northern Ireland’s Honest Broker Service.

One of the EPD’s key strengths is its ability to be securely linked to other health and social care datasets using the Health and Care Number. This enables researchers to follow patterns of treatment and health service use over time and build a more complete picture of population health. The profile highlights how the EPD has already supported research on prescribing for people with dementia, inequalities in breast cancer screening among women with mental illness, and studies examining the mental health of people leaving prison.

The article also shows how the quality of the data has improved over time. In particular, the proportion of prescriptions successfully linked to patient information has increased substantially in recent years, further strengthening the database’s value for population-level research.

By publishing this profile, the authors hope to make the EPD easier to understand and use for researchers in Northern Ireland and internationally. As interest in linked administrative data continues to grow, the EPD offers valuable opportunities to study prescribing, health inequalities, and the use of routine data in real-world settings.

Dr Emma Ross of Queen’s University Belfast said: “Every prescription tells a small part of someone’s health story. The Enhanced Prescribing Database allows researchers to bring those stories together at a population level and use them to answer important public health questions.”

 

Click here to read the full article

Dr Emma Ross, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland

Ross, E., Cooper, J., O'Reilly, D. and Maguire, A. (2023) “Data Resource Profile: The Enhanced Prescribing Database (EPD) in Northern Ireland”, International Journal of Population Data Science, 8(6). doi: 10.23889/ijpds.v8i6.3354.