Fostering advancements in research, patient care and outcomes
Who we are
THIN® (The Health Improvement Network) is a network of European databases of electronic health records. These data are voluntarily transmitted by a network of physicians who firmly believe that supporting this kind of longitudinal data observatory benefits research and medical progress, in compliance with current regulations, including GDPR.
THIN® databases currently cover over 72 million electronic health records across several European countries (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Romania). Their data are available to all life science stakeholders, and are notably used by academic researchers for numerous scientific publications.
THIN® supports health authorities, researchers and research centers, facilitating advancements in research, which in turn enhance patient care and improve outcomes—all in the interests of public health.
THIN® data have been used in over 2,000 published medical studies worldwide.
Epidemiological Research
Real-world data are used to describe a population’s state of health and understand the various factors behind the emergence, frequency and spread of diseases.
R&D
Real-world data are used to support health research and development, for example, to identify unmet medical needs, characterize target populations, extend existing drug indications, optimize clinical trials, etc.
Population Health Management
Real-world data can be used to monitor and plan public health strategies.
Drug monitoring
Real-world data are used to analyze how drugs are prescribed and used in real-life conditions after their launch (post-market authorization studies).
Patients
Patients are the lifeblood of real-world data and its main beneficiaries.
Data are primarily used for patient care: the data that doctors manage in the electronic health records relate to symptoms, diagnoses and treatments. They are treated in compliance with current regulations, including GDPR.
Data are also used for research, with the patient’s prior knowledge. They are used in studies about chronic diseases (arterial hypertension, diabetes, asthma, etc.), infections (flu, Covid, etc.), cancer, and more.
Healthcare professionals
Healthcare professionals input the data into the electronic medical record when patients consult them and when they prescribe treatment.
They play a key role in compiling the real-world database and in the quality of its content.
The electronic health records’ coded and structured data feed algorithms, just like an interoperable information system, which in turn serve as a secure decision-making support tool for the health professional. This helps decision-making and therefore improves patient outcomes.
Pharma industry and academic research
Research of both an academic and more corporate/commercial nature underpins the ability of the wider healthcare sector to develop medicines, treatments and care pathways for better population health.
Unlike billing data, THIN® real-world data reflects the medical intention and value in use, thus contributing evidence throughout the health product’s life cycle, from phase II clinical trials to market access, marketing and sales.
THIN® data are robust because they are voluntarily supplied by a network of doctors who are mostly private practitioners and therefore enable access to as many patients as possible and all diseases.
Health Authorities
Health authorities can use THIN® real-world data to supplement and/or confirm the results of clinical trials, by applying them to a wider population sample than the one used in the clinical trials. These data are also used to monitor the efficacy and safety of medicines post-launch.
At a European level, the EMA (European Medicines Agency) uses THIN® data to conduct various real-world evidence studies. THIN® is also an approved supplier of the ENCePP (European Network of Centres for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacovigilance) and listed in its database catalogue.
Payers
Real-world data can be used to measure the cost of different diseases by including all the expenses associated with them. They are also used to measure the economic burden of diseases, or even the economic and therapeutic value of medicines through cost-effectiveness analyses. They inform negotiations about medicine prices and reimbursement rates.
THIN® EuroBoard is the European scientific review committee dedicated to the THIN® databases’ healthcare research projects, and was set up to guarantee the quality of THIN®-based research.
It assesses and approves the appropriate, relevant and ethical use of THIN® data in research projects likely to be published or widely shared.
To do so, it draws on two types of expertise:
- That of about ten independent experts, all of them internationally recognized for their know-how in pharmaco-epidemiology, methodology, biostatistics, health economics, various different medical specialties, health data science, mathematical modeling, etc., and
- That of experts in the THIN® databases and RWE studies from Cegedim Group.
Researchers submitting projects for assessment and approval receive a response within 15 working days.
Contact us here.
Data protection
THIN® attaches great importance to the confidentiality of data and the rights of patients and doctors. The data voluntarily transmitted by a network of doctors, are compliant with all legal and ethical requirements, notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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View our latest blog posts
Cegedim Health Data expands its European database THIN®with German real-world data.
Cegedim Health Data expands its European database THIN® now includes German anonymized electronic health records.
Cegedim Health Data launches THIN® EuroBoard
Cegedim Health Data sets up THIN® EuroBoard, its first European scientific review committee dedicated to healthcare research using real-world data.
How THIN Data Can Help Detect Co-morbidities and Support Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation
Insights into the patterns of diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of AF and other medical conditions, enabling healthcare professionals to catch comorbidities and establish effective treatments.
University of Birmingham partners with Cegedim for Data-Driven ‘RADIANT’ Study.
The University of Birmingham has partnered with Dexter and Cegedim to conduct the RADIANT trial that focuses on gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).