The intriguing future of pharmacoepidemiology.

Over the years more and more data have become available in the constantly growing databases on prescription drugs. This has facilitated the development of pharmacoepidemiology, a dynamic research field that has undergone a more rapid development than many other research areas. There are several reasons why pharmacoepidemiology will remain recognized as one of the most dynamic and challenging research areas of clinical pharmacology. The data explosion in modern society will continue, and observational studies aimed at assessing the value of medicines will be increasingly requested by payers, professionals and patients. Future studies in pharmacoepidemiology must include specialist drugs used in the hospital setting and also be designed to address obstacles hindering the delivery of effective medicines to the patient. Pharmacoepidemiological methods may also be valuable tools to address new challenges, such as the environmental impact of medicines. A potential threat is that the increasing amounts of data available in registries may add fuel to the debate on confidentiality. The too strict application of privacy rules might hinder the further development of pharmacoepidemiology.