Key
points:
- The conceptual definition of medication use includes the context under
which the medication is being studied, the research concept of
interest, the route of administration of interest, the dose of
interest, and specifics regarding elements of timing and duration of
medication use.
- The operational definition of medication use includes a description of
the data source, the approach used to identify the medication, how
timing elements related to medication use were identified and
calculated, the features of medication use, and the algorithm used to
identify medication use.
- Adoption and reporting on the use of the proposed considerations may
enhance the quality of pharmacoepidemiology research and our ability
to contextualize and interpret findings.