Systematic approach to outcome assessment from coded electronic healthcare records in the DaRe2THINK NHS-embedded randomised trial

Background Improving the efficiency of clinical trials is key to their continued importance in directing evidence-based patient care. Digital innovations, in particular the use of electronic healthcare records (EHR), allow for large-scale screening and follow-up of participants. However, it is critical these developments are accompanied by robust and transparent methods that can support high quality and high clinical value research. Methods The DaRe2THINK trial includes a series of novel processes, including nationwide pseudonymised pre-screening of the primary care EHR across England, digital enrolment, remote e-consent, and ‘no-visit’ follow-up by linking all primary and secondary care health data with patient-reported outcomes. Findings DaRe2THINK is a pragmatic, healthcare-embedded randomised trial testing whether earlier use of direct oral anticoagulants in patients with prior or current atrial fibrillation can prevent thromboembolic events and cognitive decline ( www.birmingham.ac.uk/dare2think ). This paper outlines the systematic approach and methodology employed to define patient information and outcome events. This includes transparency on all medical code lists and phenotypes used in the trial across a variety of national data sources, including Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum (primary care), Hospital Episode Statistics (secondary care) and the Office for National Statistics (mortality). Interpretation Co-designed by a patient and public involvement team, DaRe2THINK presents an opportunity to transform the approach to randomised trials in the setting of routine healthcare, providing high-quality evidence generation in populations representative of the community at-risk.