Clinical Epidemiology

Clinical Epidemiology is pleased to announce the publication of a special Thematic Series on the Danish clinical quality databases – an important and untapped resource for clinical research.

Danish registries and databases have long become mainstay of clinical research thanks to routine collection of vast amounts of interlinkable health and social data and lifelong follow-up – in a setting of universal access to health care. Registry-based research in a setting of universal record-keeping and health care access is efficient thanks to its relatively low cost, absence of selection bias, and ability to assemble large study populations from historical data. Misclassification of medical events and lack of clinical detail are frequently invoked limitations of epidemiologic research based on administrative and claims records. The Danish clinical quality databases have the potential to ameliorate these shortcomings. This Thematic Series features articles describing 55 Danish clinical quality databases, authored by clinicians and epidemiologists who, on a daily basis, work with Danish clinical quality databases and care for patients whose data are recorded in those databases. These databases, many of which have been founded and initially operated by enthusiastic clinicians, are now in public domain. The medical databases typically cover all patients with a specific disease (e.g. colorectal cancer) or those undergoing a specific surgical procedure (e.g. hip replacement). The databases represent complete cohorts of patients with verified diagnoses, detailed clinical data, and possibility for complete and longitudinal follow-up. 

This Thematic Series on the Danish clinical quality databases highlights and underscores the untapped huge research potential for future clinical research and provides practical information on the databases’ contents and access.