ITMAT > CTSA > ACARD
Welcome to ACARD
ACARD (Automated Claims and Medical Record Databases) is a core in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CCEB) created to foster epidemiologic research into therapeutics, using large population-based automated claims databases (Medicaid/Medicare) and medical records databases (GPRD and THIN).

With overall leadership by Brian Strom, and leadership of components by Drs. James Lewis (GPRD, THIN) and Sean Hennessy (Medicaid/Medicare), the ACARD Core provides access to a resource whereby CTSA investigators can perform epidemiological studies of large population databases that are available at Penn. The ACARD Core also provides access to the needed hardware and software in an environment supported by expert faculty supervision. Resources are provided for the conduct of pilot studies with each database. Assistance is provided to investigators through both consultative services and via funding opportunities.

ACARD staff are available to:
  • Meet with investigators during planning stages and during the conduct of their research;
  • Assist the investigator with preliminary feasibility queries (e.g., obtaining frequency counts of patients with a given disease or medication exposure);
  • Assist the investigator in applying for data use agreements where necessary;
  • Assist applicants in writing research proposals to make sure the study is informed by in-depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each data resource
ACARD has also created two funding mechanisms. One is a low-cost mechanism for investigators with appropriate experience with large databases and statistical software to conduct population-level research. For investigators with less experience, ACARD offers research grants and more intensive technical support to help with data management, data analysis, and manuscript preparation.

Ultimately, the goal of ACARD is to encourage investigators with diverse training to conduct studies focused on translational therapeutics and drug safety, and to facilitate these research efforts by making available to them existing large databases that can provide answers more quickly and at a lower cost than that involving de novo collection of data.

Databases currently available through ACARD: