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Welcome to ACARD

Mission:

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), and an adverse event reporting system (AERS) database.

Goals:

  1. Encourage investigators with diverse training to conduct studies focused on translational therapeutics and drug safety
  2. Provide access to large databases that allow for rapid and cost-effective research on therapeutics and drug safety
  3. Foster collaboration with CTSA sites outside of Penn who wish to use these databases for clinical research

ACARD services:

  • Provide consultation during planning stages and during the conduct of their research;
  • Assist investigators with preliminary feasibility queries (e.g., obtaining frequency counts of patients with a given disease or medication exposure);
  • Assist investigators 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
  • Provides access to the needed hardware and software in an environment supported by expert faculty supervision.
  • Provide access to a library of statistical and programming resources for executing studies within the available electronic databases

Databases currently available through ACARD:

New Databases to Be Added:

  • National- Medicare Part D
  • SEER-Medicare Data

Funding opportunities:

ACARD has created two funding opportunities.
  • 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.

Contact information:

Updated 2/14/11

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