Review of the research databases on population-based Registries of Unified electronic Healthcare system of Kazakhstan (UNEHS): Possibilities and limitations for epidemiological research and Real-World Evidence

Abstract

Introduction: A 'learning healthcare system', based on electronic health records and other routinely collected healthcare data, would allow Real World Data (RWD) to be continuously fed into the system, ensuring that with every new patient treated, we know more overall about the practice of medicine. A judicious use of RWD would complement the traditional evidence from clinical research, for the benefit of all stakeholders involved in healthcare. Lack of data on disease epidemiology in Kazakhstan resonates with lower life expectancy and poorer health indicators compared to countries with analogous income per capita. Usage of primary data collection methods to fill these gaps require additional financial and human resources. Usage of big data, which is routinely collected though healthcare information systems, is considered as a competitive alternative in described circumstances.

Objective: Development of the Unified National Electronic Healthcare System (UNEHS) in Kazakhstan allowed the creation of research databases to investigate epidemiology of numerous diseases. UNEHS research databases endorse extensive research activities due to a prospective follow-up, coverage of the whole Kazakhstani population and relatively lower expenses to conduct epidemiological studies. This review paper aims to introduce the content and descriptive data on research databases on population-based registries of UNEHS and to discuss opportunities and limitations of its usage.

Results and discussion: UNEHS databases include medical data on 36.4% of an adult population of Kazakhstan. Research databases presented in this paper contain critical variables that can be utilized for investigation of disease epidemiology, effectiveness of provided medical procedures and infectious disease epidemiology. A few examples accompany a detailed elaboration on the possibilities of research database utilization in epidemiological research.

Conclusion: Considering numerous advantages, the UNEHS research databases are expected to greatly contribute to healthcare in Kazakhstan by providing critical data on disease epidemiology. To warrant long-term usage and high research output several concerns and limitations should be addressed as well.

Keywords: Disease epidemiology research; Health services research; Kazakhstan; National claims database; Real-world data.