A short history of data banking in the United States from 1974 to 2003.

There have been 4 major longitudinal data banking efforts within the United States: ARAMIS, the Western Consortium, and the individual data banks of Drs. Ted Pincus and Fred Wolfe. ARAMIS began in the 1970s, and helped to develop the language and methodology of rheumatology data banks using biannual surveys. The National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases used the ARAMIS model beginning in the late 1990s to form a very large contemporary rheumatology data bank. Hybrid models using both survey data and clinical data were put into practice by Pincus and Wolfe, and by Paulus at the Western Consortium.