Optimum Patient Care Research Database Australia (OPCRDA) (Australia)

Summary

Coordinating Country

Australia

Region

Australia

The OPCRDA contains Australian Primary Care data across NSW, QLD, Victoria, and South Australia. Varied urban/rural and SES for contributing sites.

Brief Database Description

The Optimum Patient Care Research Database Australia (OPCRDA) is a nonprofit, ethically governed research database managed by Optimum Patient Care Australia Pty Ltd (OPCA), a social enterprise supporting healthcare providers across Australia.

OPCRDA collects de-identified Electronic Medical Records (EMR) patient data from GP practices and respiratory and allergy specialist practices across Australia (over 1 million patients). EMR data are supplemented with patient-reported information/outcome data in a subgroup of patients. OPCRDA includes information on prescriptions, medical devices, procedures, clinical measurements, healthcare provider details, biomarker data, patient-reported outcomes, lifestyle factors, and sociodemographic information.

The database covers main Australian clinical systems such as Best Practice and Medical Director. Its primary uses include public health research, healthcare quality improvement, and feasibility studies for clinical trials. Data access is governed by the Anonymous Data Ethics Protocols and Transparency (ADEPT) committee.

Database Type

Longitudinal Population Database

- Drug and Diagnosis Data

- - Electronic Medical Records

OPCRDA collects longitudinal, de-identified electronic medical records from both GPs and specialist practices across Australia. It includes information on prescriptions, medical devices, procedures, clinical measurements, healthcare provider details, biomarker data, patient-reported outcomes, lifestyle factors, and sociodemographic information.

Database Source

EHR/EMR

(-Derived from EMR systems inlcuding Medical Director and Best Practice;
-PRIO data from a select sub group of patients)

Frequency of Data Collection

Ongoing

Frequency of Data Update

Monthly

Years Covered

1901 - Present

[Median time between first and last available records for unique individuals: 5.54 years;
Median time between first and last available records for unique active individuals (alive and currently registered): 4.70 years.]

Population Type

General Population

Patient Type

Inpatient and Outpatient

Emergency Room (ER/ED)

Other

(Contains primary care data, respiratory and allergy specialist care data. Contains inpatient, outpatient and ER data that can be sent back to the GP.)

Date of Last Update

Ongoing

The Optimum Patient Care Research Database Australia (OPCRDA) is updated on an ongoing basis.
This profile was developed for the B.R.I.D.G.E. TO DATA site on July 22, 2025.

Population Dynamics

Database Population Size

1 - 5 Million

Active Population Size

<0.5 Million

Annual Change in Population

N/A

(No exact number)

Sample Weights - Extrapolation Factors

N/A

(Not applicable)

Final Population Size

N/A

Not applicable, since data are still being collected

Demographic Data

Age of Patients at Data Collection

Yes

Age/YOB is collected

Approximate Percentage of Participants <18 years and those >65 years

< 18 years: ~8.3%
> 65 years: ~17.6%

(Percentage based on current, most recent data)

Gender Data

Yes

Percentage of Males/Females

Males = ~40.7%
Females = ~55%

Ethnicity / Race Data

Yes

(White, Asian, African, Mixed, Other, Unknown)

Geographic Location

Australia

The OPCRDA contains Australian Primary Care data across NSW, QLD, Victoria, and South Australia, Western Australia and Australian Capital Territory. Varied urban/rural and SES for contributing sites.

Date of Birth Recorded

Yes

(Year of birth)

Death Recorded

Death is an event that triggers de-registration of a person in the data source.
NOTE: It is known if a patient has died if recorded by the general practitioner in the patient records.

Availability of death certificate / autopsy information

N/A

(Not applicable)

Other Demographic Data

Yes

OPCRDA captures Social Determinants of Health information (e.g., lifestyle, education, access to healthcare, etc.) from a subgroup of PRIO patients. Socio-economic information for the location of the GP site the patient attends via proxies, such as deprivation data based on postcode of the GP site (also data from questionnaires and clinical reviews).

Physician & Practioner Info

Physician ID

Physician Specialty

Pharmacy ID

Diagnoses/Signs & Symptoms

Diagnosis Data

Yes

Diagnoses Coded

SNOMED Clinical Terms®

Other

[Best Practice and Medical Director internal EMR codes (Pyefinch and DOCLE)
Best Practice (BP) and MedicalDirector (MD) codes are internal identifiers used by Australian general practice EMR systems to record clinical terms such as diagnoses, medications, test results, and encounters. Each code corresponds to a clinical concept and may be mapped to standard terminologies like SNOMED CT-AU, ICPC-2 Plus, or AMT.]

Diagnoses: Date Parameters

1901 - Present

(All patient history, from beginning to the present time)

Diagnoses: Maximum Number of Codes Allowed

Unlimited

Physical Examination Findings

Yes

OPCRDA captures height, weight, BMI, allergies, etc.

Birth Defect Data

Yes

However, only if coded by the healthcare practitioner

Cancer Data

Yes

Information on lung cancer is retrieved from clinical notes, i.e., searching for practice-system specific lung cancer codes and free-text search terms in clinical notes.

Infectious Disease Data

Yes

Environmental Exposures

Yes

Behavioral Data Elements

Yes

Information is available on smoking status (current smoker, ex-smoker, never smoked), and alcohol intake

Procedures

Procedure Data

Yes

Procedures Coded

LOINC

Other

[Best Practice and Medical Director internal EMR codes (Pyefinch and DOCLE)]

Number of Procedures Coded

Unlimited

Procedure Date Parameters

1901 - Present

Laboratory Information

Yes

Drug Information

Drug Data

Yes

Drug Date Parameters

1901 - Present

Drug Regimen & Route

Yes

Dose and Route of administration are both known

Drug Manufacturer

Brand names and active ingredients are available for drugs

Drug Dosage

Yes

Dosage regimen is known

Drug Days Supply

EMR data do not include whether the drug was dispensed by the patient at the pharmacist; however they have prescribing instructions from the doctor which can specify the number of days the GP has written the script for.

Drug Coding System: Maximum Number

Unlimited

Drug Coding System: Primary

SNOMED CT® Clinical Terms (drug information only)

Drug Coding System: Other

Other

(PBS codes.
PBS codes are identifiers assigned to medicines listed on the Australian Government’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Each code uniquely represents a specific medication, dosage form, and strength that is subsidised under the scheme. These codes are used in prescribing, dispensing, and health data systems to track medication use and reimbursement.)

Drug Generic Name

Yes

Drug Additional Information

Biobanks

Biobank Type

N/A

Human Specimen

N/A

Blood Type

N/A

Biomarkers

N/A

Patient ID

N/A

Number of Samples

N/A

Frequency of Sample Collection

N/A

Pre-diagnostic Sample Collection

N/A

Post-treatment Sample Collection

N/A

Method of Sample Collection

N/A

Age at Sample Collection

N/A

Date of Sample Collection

N/A

Reason for Sample Collection

N/A

Method of Sample Storage

N/A

Length of Sample Storage

N/A

Pathology

N/A

DNA Isolation

N/A

RNA Isolation

N/A

Cell Culture

N/A

Genetic Testing

N/A

Access for Research: Specimens

N/A

Access for Research: Genetic Data

N/A

Access for Research: Epidemiologic Data

N/A

Quality Assurance Procedures

N/A

Family History

N/A

Medical History

N/A

Biobank Linkage

N/A

Genetic-PGx Data

Type of Genetic Database

N/A

Source of Genetic Data

N/A

Specimen Genotyped

N/A

Tissue Form

N/A

Genetic Template

N/A

Gene-Drug Response

N/A

Gene-Disease Relationship

N/A

Gene-Health Outcome Relationship

N/A

Gene-Environment Response

N/A

Method of Imputing Genetic Data

N/A

Genetic Variant Identification

N/A

Genetic Data Level

N/A

Genotyping Method

N/A

Method of Genetic Variant Filtering

N/A

Haplotypes

N/A

Haplogroups

N/A

Variable Number of Tandem Repeats (VNTR)

N/A

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)

N/A

Variant Type

N/A

Variant Class

N/A

Mutation Indicated

N/A

Position

N/A

Amino Acid Change

N/A

Genotype / Polymorphism

N/A

Allele Frequency

N/A

Linkage Disequilibrium (r²)

N/A

Noncarriers Indicated

N/A

Association Statistics

N/A

Genetic Relatedness Pairing

N/A

Data Sharing: Genetic Data

N/A

Access for Research

N/A

Genetic Data Linkage

N/A

Description of Genetic Data Linkage

N/A

Economic Data

Cost Data

Cost Denomination

N/A

(Not applicable)

Type of Cost Data

N/A

(Not applicable)

Surrogate Cost Data Link

N/A

(Not applicable)

Description of Surrogate Link

N/A

(Not applicable)

Validation & Linkage

Data Validation Against Original Source

Yes

If requested, validity of the data within OPCRDA can be verified against the original medical charts.

Access to Medical Records

Researchers cannot access the original medical records held at the GP site.

Linkage to Other Databases

Yes

NOTE: OPCRDA is not linked to other external databases but has the capacity to be linked to other datasets. Also, while not at the moment, they are looking to have it in OMOP in future.

Brief Description of Linkage Capabilities

N/A

(Not applicable)

Administrative Information

Database Contact Data

Optimum Patient Care Australia Pty Ltd (OPCA)
320 Adelaide Street
Brisbane City, Level 10, Office 1
AUSTRALIA
Email: info@optimumpatientcare.org.au
Phone: (+61) 405 764 842
Fax: (+61) 7 3036 6729

Website

https://www.optimumpatientcare.org.au/opcrda

Alternate Contact

Complete the Contact Us form at
https://www.optimumpatientcare.org.au/opcrda

Source of Database Funding

Private

(Funding by own institution)

Sponsoring Government Agency

N/A

(Not applicable)

Sponsoring Pharmaceutical Manufacturer

N/A

(Not applicable)

Database Usage Restrictions

Private Access

Charge for Database Usage

Yes

Prices vary based on the project scope. Please contact info@optimumpatientcare.org.au for more information.

Data Media Format

Excel / CSV

Other

(An anonymised study dataset is created according to requested study requirements and data specification either as an analytical dataset or in a raw relational database format.)

Number of Publications Using Database

References of Studies Using/Describing Database

1. Price D, Jenkins C, Hancock K, Vella R, Heraud F, Le Cheng P, Murray R, Beekman M, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Botini F, Carter V, Catanzariti A, Doan J, Fletton K, Kichkin A, Le T, Le Lievre C, Lau CM, Novic D, Pakos J, Ranasinghe K, Roussos A, Samuel-King J, Sharma A, Stewart D, Willet B, Bateman E; OPCA Improving Asthma Outcomes in Australia Research Group. The Association Between Short-Acting β2-Agonist Over-Prescription, and Patient-Reported Acquisition and Use on Asthma Control and Exacerbations: Data from Australia. Adv Ther. 2024 Mar;41(3):1262-1283.

2. Hancock KL, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Blakey JD, Hew M, Chung LP, Cvetkovski B, Claxton S, Del Fante P, Denton E, Doan J, Ranasinghe K, Morgan L, Sharma A, Smith PK, Stewart D, Thompson PJ, Wiseman R, Upham JW, Yan KY, Carter V, Dhillon K, Heraud F, Le T, Vella R, Price D; OPCA Improving Asthma outcomes in Australia Research Group. Characterisation of the Australian Adult Population Living with Asthma: Severe - Exacerbation Frequency, Long-Term OCS Use and Adverse Effects. Pragmat Obs Res. 2022 Jul 5;13:43-58.

3. Bateman ED, Price DB, Wang HC, Khattab A, Schonffeldt P, Catanzariti A, van der Valk RJP, Beekman MJHI. Short-acting β2-agonist prescriptions are associated with poor clinical outcomes of asthma: the multi-country, cross-sectional SABINA III study. Eur Respir J. 2022 May 5;59(5):2101402.

4. Evans A, Soremekun S, Stanley B, Appiagyei F, Couper A, Taylor O, Le T, Pullen R, Jones S, Carter V, Price C. Strategies that promote sustainability in quality improvement activities for chronic disease management in healthcare settings: a practical perspective. Quality in Primary Care. 2020;28(6), 55–60.

Database Contact

Database Contact Data

Optimum Patient Care Australia Pty Ltd (OPCA)
320 Adelaide Street
Brisbane City, Level 10, Office 1
AUSTRALIA
Email: info@optimumpatientcare.org.au
Phone: (+61) 405 764 842
Fax: (+61) 7 3036 6729

Alternate Contact

Complete the Contact Us form at
https://www.optimumpatientcare.org.au/opcrda

Literature References

References of Studies Using/Describing Database