Dear colleague,

One of our primary difficulties in health technology assessment (HTA) is getting standardised, comparable measures of outcome in terms of health-related utility and quality of life. Among other things, heterogeneity is introduced into HTA via alternative methods of utility determination: standard gamble, time-trade-off and direct measurement using surveys such as the HUI and the EQ5D. The Health Outcomes Data Repository (HODaR [1]) was created with the intent of bridging this data/intelligence gap for the first time, and we now have data on around 60,000 people, and data capture is ongoing. Although it is a contemporary scientific resource, HODaR has now been used in an increasing number of scientific studies [manuscripts 1-6 and example abstracts 7-16], with more in the pipeline. Thus, we have already exposed HODaR to considerable scientific scrutiny.

HODaR has now been available commercially for two years, and it has also been used by academics in their work. However, analysing complex, linked, historic and future phenotypic data from a detailed survey is not straightforward because it necessarily requires the use of relational database software for some operations during data analysis. 

In order to allow for more widespread use of this unique health data source, we have written a simplified version of HODaR for use across the Internet (eHODaR). After 'signing' an electronic agreement, eHODaR allows users to select in great detail groups of patients based on their demography, diagnoses and operative procedures, and it will report measures of central tendency and dispersion for health-related utility as measures by the EQ5Dindex and quality of life as measured by the SF36. eHODaR then allows users to compare these groups and export these data to MS-Excel. There is much more analytical capability in use of the raw data but this tool will give analysts a pretty good flavour; for example, we have not included a facility to analyse the many millions of biochemical test results that we have linked to outcome in HODaR (see for example 17).

Future online analytical tools within eHODaR will include: 
*	Clinical trials Inclusion/exclusion criteria analyser
*	Epidemiology analyser
*	Survival analyser
*	Cost and resource use analyser
*	Productive loss analyser
*	Cost and volume in trends of drug use in England analyser

If you are interested in using eHODaR, please visit our website at https://www.crc-limited.co.uk and you can request access, or you can email me directly.

Yours sincerely, 

Craig
_______________________

Dr. Craig Currie, PhD
Director, CRC Ltd

Tel. +44 (0) 2920682047
Email. [log in to unmask]
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References:

1.	Currie CJ, McEwan P, Peters JR, Patel TC, Dixon S. The routine collation of health outcomes data from hospital treated subjects in the Health Outcomes Data Repository (HODaR): descriptive analysis from the first 20,000 subjects. Value in Health 2005;5:581-590  
2.	Lee AJ, Morgan CLl, Morrissey M, Wittrup-Jensen KU, Kennedy-Martin T, Currie CJ. Evaluation of the association between the EQ-5Dindex (health-related utility) and body mass index (obesity) in hospital-treated people with Type 1 diabetes, Type 2 diabetes and with no diagnosed diabetes. Diabetic Medicine 2005;22:1482*1486
3.	Davis RE, Morrissey M, Peters JR, Wittrup-Jensen K, Kennedy-Martin T, Currie CJ. Impact of hypoglycaemia on quality of life and productivity in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Current Medical Research and Opinion 2005;21:1477*1483
4.	Lee AJ, Morgan CLl, Conway P, Currie CJ. Characterisation and comparison of health-related quality of life for patients with renal failure. Current Medical Research and Opinion 2005;21:1777*1783
5.	Currie CJ, McEwan P, Poole CD, Odeyemi IA, Datta SN, Morgan CLl. The impact of the overactive bladder on health-related utility and quality of life. British Journal of Urology International 2005 (in press)
6.	Dixon S, Currie CJ, McEwan. Utility values for obesity and preliminary analysis of the Health Outcomes Data Repository. Expert Opinion in Pharmcoeconomics and Outcomes Research 2004;4:657-665 Woehl, A; Currie, CJ. Estimation of the financial impact of obesity on the National Health Service and Society in the United Kingdom. Value in Health, 8 (3): 250-250 MAY-JUN 2005
7.	Woehl, A; Davies, S; Scanlon, MF; et al. Evaluation of the association between height and health-related utility (EQ5D(INDEX)). Value in Health, 8 (3): 280-281 MAY-JUN 2005
8.	Currie, CJ; Griffiths, T; Gosden, T; et al. Evaluation of the association between severity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with health-related utility (EQ5Dindex) and health care resource use. Value in Health, 8 (3): 326-326 MAY-JUN 2005
9.	McEwan, P; Peters, JR; Currie, CJ. Evaluation of the clinical outcome and financial costs of delaying the onset of frank type-2 diabetes. Value in Health, 8 (3): 355-355 MAY-JUN 2005
10.	Peters, JR; Morrissey, M; Morgan, CL; et al. Evaluation of the impact on the EQ5Dindex(heath-related utility) of conversion to insulin glargine (lantus) following failure on oral agents in people with type-2 diabetes: Interim analysis. Value in Health, 8 (3): 359-359 MAY-JUN 2005
11.	Currie, CJ; Mcewan, P. The UK EQ-5Dindex: An evaluation of face validity in hospital treated subjects. Value in Health, 8 (3): 379-380 MAY-JUN 2005
12.	McEwan, P; Peters, JP; Currie, CJ. Evaluation of improved utility estimates in cost effectiveness analysis of multiple complications in type-2 diabetes. Value in Health, 7 (6): 735-735 Suppl. S NOV-DEC 2004
13.	Currie, CJ; Peters, JR; Morrissey, M; et al. The impact of vascular events on health-related utility in patients with and without type-2 diabetes. Value in Health, 7 (6): 743-743 Suppl. S NOV-DEC 2004
14.	Davis, RE; Kennedy-Martin, T; Peters, JR; et al. The epidemiology of hypoglycaemia in a UK population with Type 2 diabetes. DIABETOLOGIA, 47: A84-A84 219 Suppl. 1 AUG 2004
15.	McEwan, P; Kind, P; Dixon, S; et al. Using an artificial neural network to predict utility scores from SF-36 data. Value in Health, 7 (3): 305-305 MAY-JUN 2004
16.	Dixon, S; McEwan, P; Currie, CJ. Including carer utility in economic evaluations: A preliminary analysis of the implications for funding thresholds. Value in Health, 7 (3): 371-371 MAY-JUN 2004
17.     Jones M, McEwan P, Morgan CL, et al. Evaluation of the pattern of treatment, level of anticoagulation control, and outcome of treatment with warfarin in patients with non-valvar atrial fibrillation: a record linkage study in a large British population  Heart 2005;91:472-477