Preliminary assessment of the data appropriateness of electronic health records for real-world studies:A survey of hospitals in a developing region in China

To the Editor:Assessment of data appropriateness is a process to answer whether electronic health records(EHRs)from routine healthcare practices couldt intended study purposes,for example,available to be proceeded,with enough individual records,with relevant information able to be extracted from records,etc.[1-3]This has been increasingly underscored as a prerequisite when using EHRs(one important type of real-world data[RWD])for scientic purposes.[4-6]Although controversies remain on the denitions,types and assessment methods of the dimensions of RWD appropriateness,the latest ofcial guidelines(i.e.,from the U.S.Food and Drug Administration[FDA][4]and China National Medical Products Administration[NMPA][6])suggest that the assessment start from a preliminary stage on variable existence,and subsequently deepen into the issue of data value(such as missing value,outliers,etc.),as the preliminary assessment is the foundation of the overall RWD appropriateness.[7]Little is known about the appropriateness of EHRs in developing regions,which feature high visit volumes and a great number of hospitals.Therefore,this study aimed to preliminarily investigate RWD appropriateness from hospitals in developing regions from the perspective of core variables’comparison.