Advances in healthcare informatics have increased the ability to address real-world, clinically relevant questions using large databases. When examining data sources, researchers and clinicians need to consider data validity, potential sources of misclassification, whether the source is sufficiently powered to detect clinically relevant differences, ability to obtain longitudinal data, containment of patients within a database, and ability to obtain structured point-of-care data. Population-based databases create opportunities for characterizing natural history of psoriatic diseases, conducting comparative effectiveness research, determining comorbidities, and providing epidemiology-based rational approaches to mechanistic investigations. Herein, we discuss the major data sources for clinical research in psoriasis, including electronic medical records, research networks, disease registries, and others.
