Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program

The Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program (BCDSP) was established in 1966. It Was the first group to conduct formal epidemiologic research to quantify the potential adverse effects of prescription drugs utilizing in-hospital monitoring and had a pioneering role in the development and application of methods in drug epidemiology. Today the BCDSP conducts studies in the field of pharmacoepidemiology using large automated patient databases including the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), formerly known as the General Practice Research Database. The BCDSP made a major contribution to the development and validation of the CPRD and has unique experience in the design and execution of pharmacoepidemiological studies with this database.

Studies conducted in recent years cover a broad range of drugs and outcomes. Research studies are either investigator-initiated or performed on a contract basis in collaboration with regulatory authorities or the pharmaceutical industry. The BCDSP has published more than 400 pharmacoepidemiological studies and methodological reviews in peer-reviewed medical journals of which more than 200 are based on data from the CPRD.

The BCDSP also offers programs of professional education in drug epidemiology and welcomes collaborators from government, industry and academia. You are invited to explore our website, which provides further information about the history of the BCDSP, the databases we work with, our annual international workshop on drug safety and pharmacoepidemiology, and scientific publications by the BCDSP and our staff.

Visit http://www.bu.edu/bcdsp/ for more information.