Characterization and selection of Japanese electronic health record databases used as data sources for non-interventional observational studies

BACKGROUND: Interventional studies are the fundamental method for obtaining answers to clinical questions. However, these studies are sometimes difficult to conduct because of insufficient financial or human resources or the rarity of the disease in question. One means of addressing these issues is to conduct a non-interventional observational study using electronic health record (EHR) databases as the data source, although how best to evaluate the suitability of an EHR database when planning a study remains to be clarified. The aim of the present study is to identify and characterize the data sources that have been used for conducting non-interventional observational studies in Japan and propose a flow diagram to help researchers determine the most appropriate EHR database for their study goals. METHODS: We compiled a list of published articles reporting observational studies conducted in Japan by searching PubMed for relevant articles published in the last 3 years and by searching database providers’ publication lists related to studies using their databases. For each article, we reviewed the abstract and/or full text to obtain information about data source, target disease or therapeutic area, number of patients, and study design (prospective or retrospective). We then characterized the identified EHR databases. RESULTS: In Japan, non-interventional observational studies have been mostly conducted using data stored locally at individual medical institutions (663/1511) or collected from several collaborating medical institutions (315/1511). Whereas the studies conducted with large-scale integrated databases (330/1511) were mostly retrospective (73.6%), 27.5% of the single-center studies, 47.6% of the multi-center studies, and 73.7% of the post-marketing surveillance studies, identified in the present study, were conducted prospectively. We used our findings to develop an assessment flow diagram to assist researchers in evaluating and choosing the most suitable EHR database for their study goals. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis revealed that the non-interventional observational studies were conducted using data stored local at individual medical institutions or collected from collaborating medical institutions in Japan. Disease registries, disease databases, and large-scale databases would enable researchers to conduct studies with large sample sizes to provide robust data from which strong inferences could be drawn. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12911-021-01526-6.