• Erica A Voss, Rupa Makadia, Amy Matcho, Qianli Ma, Chris Knoll, Martijn Schuemie, Frank J DeFalco, Ajit Londhe, Vivienne Zhu, and Patrick B Ryan.
• Epidemiology Analytics, Janssen Research & Development, Titusville, New Jersey, USA evoss3@its.jnj.com.
• J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2015 May 1; 22 (3): 553-64.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the utility of applying the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) across multiple observational databases within an organization and to apply standardized analytics tools for conducting observational research.Materials And MethodsSix deidentified patient-level datasets were transformed to the OMOP CDM. We evaluated the extent of information loss that occurred through the standardization process. We developed a standardized analytic tool to replicate the cohort construction process from a published epidemiology protocol and applied the analysis to all 6 databases to assess time-to-execution and comparability of results.ResultsTransformation to the CDM resulted in minimal information loss across all 6 databases. Patients and observations excluded were due to identified data quality issues in the source system, 96% to 99% of condition records and 90% to 99% of drug records were successfully mapped into the CDM using the standard vocabulary. The full cohort replication and descriptive baseline summary was executed for 2 cohorts in 6 databases in less than 1 hour.DiscussionThe standardization process improved data quality, increased efficiency, and facilitated cross-database comparisons to support a more systematic approach to observational research. Comparisons across data sources showed consistency in the impact of inclusion criteria, using the protocol and identified differences in patient characteristics and coding practices across databases.ConclusionStandardizing data structure (through a CDM), content (through a standard vocabulary with source code mappings), and analytics can enable an institution to apply a network-based approach to observational research across multiple, disparate observational health databases.© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

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