It is jointly funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
CPRD is working closely with the extensive primary care, topic specific and comprehensive NIHR research networks and with NHS Digital.
[7][8] Following initiatives by the Director, Dr John Parkinson, the utility of GPRD was dramatically enhanced by linkage to other datasets on an individual patient level.
In March 2011, The Government launched its ‘Plan for Growth’ which details steps needed to enable the British economy to become more internationally competitive.
As part of this initiative The Government pledged to build a consensus on using e-health record data to create a unique position for the UK in health research.Following the announcement by the chancellor on the "Plan for Growth", a commissioned study entitled the "Research Capability Programme" was initiated with the aim of assessing the available research capabilities of the UK and future potential growth areas in this sector.
The CPRD builds on its predecessors' capabilities and aims to provide a range of services and products in the areas of medical research and public health care.
Fundamental to the work of the CPRD is the collection and linkage of anonymised data sets and provision of research services.
The data collected allows researchers access to a wealth of information including; The NHS provides, free at the point of delivery, healthcare to a population of 52 Million in England.
With access to the data sets of NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland the CPRD can provide a population of potentially up to 64 Million patients in the UK.
The primary health care data collected by the CPRD is taken from participating GP surgeries in the United Kingdom.