IADB.NL, University of Groningen

The IADB project started in 1998 as a joint effort of the Department of PharmacoEpidemiology and PharmacoEconomics (PE2) together with pharmacists from community pharmacies. The aim is to create a "laboratory" for research in pharmacoepidemiology,pharmacoeconomics and pharmacy practice management,using prescription data from these pharmacies.IADB.nl contains prescription data,with information on users,prescribers,and costs of drug prescriptions. Information on users and prescribers is stored anonymously. The data are collected from more then 55 community pharmacies from the Netherlands. The catchment population of these pharmacies is approximately 500,000 people. Since 1999 data from all these pharmacies are available. In some cases data is available from 1994.IADB.nl does not only provide data,but also expertise in epidemiological and statistical research methods.