Pharmacoepidemiological methods for computing the duration of pharmacological prescriptions using secondary data sources

Purpose In pharmacoepidemiology, correctly defining the exposure period of pharmacological treatment is a challenging step when information on the time in treatment is missing or incomplete. Methods In this review, we describe several methods for defining exposure to pharmacological treatments using secondary data sources that lack such information. Results and conclusion Several methods for assessing the duration of redeemed prescriptions and combining them into temporal sequences are available. We present a set of considerations to make researchers aware of the potentials and pitfalls of these methods that may aid in minimizing biases in research using these methods. Additionally, we highlight that, to date, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Thus, the choice of method should be based on their area of applicability combined with a careful mapping to the research scenario under investigation.