Table 3.
Comparison between Discover and CPRD by data element and time period covered
| Element | Discover | CPRD GOLD |
|---|---|---|
| Date of first capture of primary care consultations | Since 2000 (earlier data are available but of poorer accuracy) | Can be 1980s or earlier but depends on practice |
| Number of registered patients as of Nov 2018 | 2.3 million approx | 11 million (active) approx. Across the UK |
| Number of participating GP practices as of Nov 2018 | 361 (out of 366 in the region) | 718 in England [ref Kontopantelis 2018, referring to 2017], < 1200 in the UK |
| Number of participating practices linked to hospital data as of Nov 2018 | 361 | 411 in England (75% of participating English practices) [from CPRD website] |
| Linkage to hospital admissions | Y, all NWL-commissioned activity, inc to hospitals out of the region. | Y, nationally via HES*. |
| Linkage to ONS mortality data | N (forthcoming) | Y |
| Linkage to national clinical audits | N | Y. Bespoke and limited e.g. to MINAP; others in progress |
| Linkage to national registries | N | Y. National cancer registries and related treatment databases |
| Type of information | ||
| Patient demographics | Y (only GP-registered pts) | Y (only GP-registered pts) |
| Prescribed medications | Y (GP-prescribed plus in-hospital high-cost drugs) | Y (GP-prescribed plus in-hospital high-cost drugs via HES linkage) |
| Social care data | Y | N |
| Community mental health data | Y | N (unless done within the GP practice) |
| Ambulance activity | N (coming soon) | N |
| Staffing | Y (e.g. practice and hospital) | N (can be requested by practice, but with some loss of information to preserve practice anonymity) |
| NHS 111 | N (coming soon) | N |
| Healthcare costs as distinct from tariffs | Y (commissioner prices – see Appendix for details) | N |
| Private care and other information | ||
| Private primary care | N** | N** |
| Private secondary care | N | N |
| Private social care | N | N |
| Wider determinants of health (crime, deprivation, pollution, education etc) | N, but area-level deprivation scores can be linked by user | Y: Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) linked to practice and patient via their postcode |
*HES Hospital Episodes Statistics (national hospital administrative database for England)
**Private primary care is still only small-scale in the UK