Data Resource Profile: Primary Care Audit, Teaching and Research Open Network (Patron)

Abstract

The Primary Care Audit, Teaching and Research Open Network (Patron) is a growing database of de-identified electronic medical records (EMR) of over 3.5 million patients from 129 consenting Australian general practices.It is a highquality data repository that provides information at the patient level, and can be linked to administrative and other datasets to provide a better understanding of important health issues.Data from Patron can be used for a broad range of research including analysing the patient journey across primary and secondary care, identifying the type of care received in general practice, monitoring the safety and effectiveness over time of medication and other interventions, measuring randomized controlled trial outcomes, detailing the costs of treatment, and describing health outcomes.It can also be used to understand the patients and conditions that students are exposed to during their primary care clinical placements which, in turn, can facilitate planning and development of the medical curriculum and student placements. Scope: Australian general practiceIn the Australian health care system, general practitioners (GPs) act as gatekeepers to specialist care, and nearly threequarters of all medical consultations occur in the primary care setting. 1 Patients are not obligated to register with an individual doctor or practice and can attend any GP of their choice anywhere in Australia.A national government insurance scheme, called Medicare, covers some or all of the costs for primary care and specialist consultations, investigations and procedures. 2 Individuals are also encouraged to take out private health insurance for private hospital and ancillary health costs.The majority of Australian general practices use medical records software to record patient data. 3

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