ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the use of data and information relating to primary care. Primary care is important in its own right, but it is also the gateway to secondary care. There are moves to integrate electronic records between the primary and secondary care sectors. Social service elements could include home care, day care or respite care. The chapter emphasises the role of aggregate datasets to supplement local information or, in the absence of local information, the usefulness of datasets. The General Practice Research Database (GPRD) is the world's largest computerised database of longitudinal patient information from general practice. Scale and quality reports allowing researchers to determine whether the GPRD could meet their needs, and sample patient profiles, with some Office for National Statistics key health statistics are readily available. Pharmaceutical costs account for 12.6% of the total costs of state-funded healthcare. The British National Formulary provides net costs based on costs for reimbursement for prescriptions at cost to prescribers.
