Prerequisites
Before beginning the Cohort Discovery onboarding process, ensure the following are in place.
For Data Custodians
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Gateway account | Your organisation must be registered on the Health Data Research Gateway |
| Gateway metadata record | A metadata record for your dataset(s) must exist on the Gateway. See how to contribute metadata |
| Cohort Discovery access request | Submit a request via the Access Cohort Discovery button on healthdatagateway.org/en/about/cohort-discovery |
| HDR UK contact | Your organisation will be assigned key contacts within the HDR UK Technology Team |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Source data subset | A relevant subset of your raw data for mapping to OMOP |
| OMOP mapping capability | Either in-house expertise or access to OMOP mapping services (HDR UK can assist via CaRROT tools) |
| Pseudonymisation process | A process for removing all PII before data is placed in the secure network area |
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Secure network area | A network zone isolated from identifiable data, supporting OCI-compliant containers (Docker, Podman, or Kubernetes) |
| Outbound HTTPS | Outbound connectivity only on port 443 to the Cohort Discovery Service IP range |
| Database | PostgreSQL 14–18, SQL Server 2019/2022, DuckDB 1.x, or Snowflake (for Bunny) |
| Compute | Minimum 2 vCPUs, 4 GB RAM |
Supported OMOP CDM versions
OMOP CDM version support
The Cohort Discovery Service supports OMOP CDM version 5.3 and above.
- If you are mapping data for the first time, version 5.4 is recommended.
- If you have an existing 5.3 mapping, it is fully supported — no migration is required.
- If you are using a version other than 5.3 or 5.4, contact the HDR UK team before proceeding.
Support
HDR UK
The HDR UK Technology Team will not need to see your row-level data at any stage. Support is provided through an introductory meeting and ongoing guidance throughout the onboarding process.
Contact: gateway@hdruk.ac.uk