DaRe2THINK launches enhanced digital platform to transform NHS primary care clinical trials

For media enquiries and more information on patient and GP perspectives, please contact Holly Young, Press Office, University of Birmingham, tel: +44 (0)7815 607 157.

About the University of Birmingham

• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, educators and more than 40,000 students from over 150 countries.

• England’s first civic university, the University of Birmingham is proud to be rooted in of one of the most dynamic and diverse cities in the country. A member of the Russell Group and a founding member of the Universitas 21 global network of research universities, the University of Birmingham has been changing the way the world works for more than a century.

About DaRe2THINK

1. The DaRe2THINK trial is sponsored by the University of Birmingham, and run in partnership with the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (part of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency [MHRA]), and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Research Delivery Network West Midlands, along with other national collaborators. DaRe2THINK is funded by the NIHR Health Technology Assessment programme. Further information on how the trial securely uses NHS data can be found here.
2. DaRe2THINK is designed and managed by NHS clinicians, led by Professor Dipak Kotecha (Cardiologist) and Dr David Shukla (GP). We actively encourage all types of NHS staff to engage in an inclusive research culture, as laid out in the NHS People Plan.
3. Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm disorder that leads to poor patient quality of life and a high cost to healthcare systems. Patients are more likely to die, have a stroke or develop a major blood clot, and have a higher risk of developing vascular dementia, as shown in a recent article by the DaRe2THINK team using primary care NHS data.
4. For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk, or call on 020 3080 7651.

About the Clinical Practice Research Datalink

The Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) is a real-world, UK government, research service supporting retrospective and prospective public health and clinical studies. Working with GP practices and healthcare bodies across the UK, we provide anonymised healthcare data and research services that are used to improve health care delivery and inform clinical guidance.

https://www.cprd.com/

About the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe.  All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgments to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.  more information can be found on the MHRA website.

About the National Institute for Health and Care Research

The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:

• Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;

• Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;

• Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;

• Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;

• Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;

• Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.

NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK international development funding from the UK government.

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/

About The NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

The NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is part of the NIHR and hosted by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHBFT) in partnership with the University of Birmingham (UoB). The BRC’s research programme focuses on inflammation and the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of its associated long-term illnesses.