From Hospital Data to Global Evidence: TMU Advances Real-World Healthcare Research

Every hospital visit leaves behind more than a medical record. A prescription, laboratory result, diagnosis, or treatment decision can become part of a much larger picture, one that supports researchers in understanding how medicines perform, how treatment practices differ across countries, and where potential risks may emerge in daily practice.

At Taipei Medical University, Professor Jason C. Hsu from the College of Management is helping transform clinical data into global research. Through data standardization, research infrastructure, and international collaboration, his work is expanding Taiwan’s contribution to real-world evidence and global health data science.

Making Hospital Data Speak the Same Language

A major foundation of his work is the Taipei Medical University Clinical Research Database (TMUCRD), which integrates electronic health records from TMU’s three affiliated hospitals: Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital, and Taipei Medical University Shuang-Ho Hospital.

TMUCRD has been converted into the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model (OMOP CDM), an international standard used by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) global research network. By organizing clinical information under a common structure, TMU can participate more efficiently in large-scale studies with institutions worldwide.

Professor Hsu, President of the OHDSI Taiwan Society and Director of TMU’s Clinical Data Center, has played a key role in strengthening these international connections.

To facilitate this integration for other institutions, Professor Hsu has promoted MediPlug, a patented system designed to help convert hospital data into the OMOP-CDM format more efficiently. Through TMUCRD, MediPlug, and the OHDSI framework, TMU is strengthening Taiwan’s role in global health data science and real-world evidence research.

From Millions of Records to Real-World Answers

This infrastructure has already contributed to several major international studies. One study examined whether ranitidine, a once widely used stomach acid medication, was linked to higher cancer risk. Using 11 databases across Europe, North America, and Asia and data from more than 1.18 million people, researchers found no clear difference in cancer risk compared with users of similar stomach acid medications.

Another study explored how hypertension combination therapies are used in different countries. Analyzing 11 electronic health record databases across eight countries and regions, the study found that treatment patterns for dual combination therapy varied widely by country and demographic group, highlighting how treatment practices can vary across healthcare systems.

TMUCRD also contributed to a large drug-safety study on whether fluoroquinolone antibiotics, commonly used for urinary tract infections, increase the risk of aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection. After analyzing more than 13.5 million patients from 14 databases in five countries, the study found no increased risk in outpatient urinary tract infection treatment settings.

More recently, Professor Hsu and international collaborators compared the cardiovascular effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors, two major classes of diabetes medicines. Drawing on data from more than 1.24 million adults with type 2 diabetes, the study found that the individual medicines showed broadly similar cardiovascular benefits, including among patients with existing cardiovascular disease.

Advancing Health Data Science from Taiwan

Together, these studies demonstrate what becomes possible when clinical data are responsibly standardized and connected across borders.

Questions that may be difficult to answer within a single hospital or clinical trial can be investigated across millions of patients, healthcare systems, and countries. This creates new opportunities to assess medication safety, understand treatment patterns, and evaluate how therapies perform in real-world settings.

By connecting clinical data from its affiliated hospitals with international standards and research networks, TMU is helping transform healthcare experiences in Taiwan into evidence with global relevance.

Professor Hsu’s work demonstrates how clinical records and hospital data can become evidence, and how evidence can ultimately support safer, more precise, and more patient-centered healthcare.

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Original Article:

1. Taipei Medical University Clinical Research Database: a collaborative hospital EHR database aligned with international common data standards
2. Comparative Cardiovascular Effectiveness of Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists and Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors in Diabetes Mellitus
3. Risk of aortic aneurysm or dissection following use of fluoroquinolones: a retrospective multinational network cohort study
4. Ranitidine Use and Incident Cancer in a Multinational Cohort
5. Analysis of Dual Combination Therapies Used in Treatment of Hypertension in a Multinational Cohort

Author Profile:

Jason C. Hsu, Professor, International Ph.D. Program in Biotech and Healthcare Management, College of Management