title: Better research reporting to improve the utility of routine data for making better treatment decisions.
abstract: The availability of routinely collected health data, such as health administrative data, electronic health records, prescription records and disease registries, has increased in the information age. This has led to an explosion of reports of comparativeness effectiveness research using such data. Guidelines for the REporting of studies Conducted using Observational Routinely-collected Data (RECORD) will improve the completeness and transparency of reporting of research using routinely collected health data. The Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research has endorsed these guidelines. In this commentary, the RECORD checklist is reprinted and members of the RECORD working committee reflect on the importance of these reporting guidelines for the field of comparative effectiveness research.
authors.affiliation: Basel Institute for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Lars G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Hemkens
authors.affiliation: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
authors.forename: Sinéad M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Langan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, & School of Epidemiology, Public Health & Preventive Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.|Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Eric I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Benchimol
mesh_terms: D035843:Biomedical Research; D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making / Q000379:methods*; D057186:Comparative Effectiveness Research / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D058028:Research Report / Q000592:standards*
keywords: comparative effectiveness research; health administrative data; peer review; research reporting guidelines; research waste; routinely collected health data; transparency