Research Support Units
Biomedical Informatics
Clinical Research Informatics Core
The Clinical Research Informatics Core (CRIC) supports the MICHR Biomedical Informatics Program (BIP) mission to improve the quality and quantity of U-M clinical research by providing cutting-edge clinical research informatics services. CRIC partners with a number of internal university units as well as external organizations. CRIC is responsible for the following initiatives that have potential to transform the U-M Clinical & Translational (C&T) research mission.
MICHR CRIC Application Support / Project Initiatives
BioDBx, an Electronic Data Capturing system, internally developed, provides comprehensive clinical data management that facilitates data capture and storage, protocol procedural tracking, inventory management, specimen management and subject data entry portal capability. It is scaled to assist both the beginning scientist as well as the multi-site data coordination center and has reporting and data extraction features.
Engage: To answer the need for a central electronic location for clinical research at the University of Michigan, the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR) developed Engage. The Engage website began as a tool to help volunteers interested in participating in clinical research match to investigators and study teams in need of recruiting volunteers, and was designed to provide a single gateway for clinical research. The site consists of several pieces - study database, information on clinical research for the public, multicultural research pages, a public search tool, information for study teams, as well as a HIPAA and IRB Compliant Registry. The Engage Registry was released in January 2007, and consists of a database that allows patients or community members to sign up for a single study or the general registry. Engage Community Information & Education Sections contain a mini-tutorial about clinical research, as well as pages focused on diversity and multicultural research participation, and a health glossary containing links to specific health conditions or preventative health information.
Coming Soon - MCRU Research Patient Scheduling Portal:
MCRU utilizes hospital patient scheduling systems for admitting research patients to various MCRU sites after investigators submitted their scheduling requests through phone/fax or email. However, research patient visit specific information and scheduling requests was still being collected and stored using paper and pen resulting in human errors and data discrepancies. MCRU Scheduling Portal was designed to facilitate research patient scheduling and administrative workflow at MCRU. Using the portal, investigators are able to submit their scheduling requests online to MCRU staff without going through the hassle of phone/email or fax traffic. MCRU staff is able to see all requests on a dashboard with all relevant information validated through online form submission. Once the visit is approved by MCRU staff, a digital logbook entry is automatically created for each prospective patient visit. At the time of actual visit, MCRU staff is able to enter all research visit relevant information to a single point of data repository using the system which would also allow advanced administrative reports to be generated in a faster and more reliable manner. For more information please contact Melih Gunal.
Velos eResearch
Contact velos-info@umich.edu for more information
A clinical research data management infrastructure will allow researchers to efficiently design protocols, track consents, coordinate schedules, and collect and manage data. It uses cutting-edge web technology so research can be conducted in the clinic, the home, and the community. Built-in protections will encourage adoption of best practices while enforcing regulatory compliance. Velos eResearch is a commercially-developed, regulatory-compliant, web-based system for managing clinical research. The University has partnered with Velos, adapting the system to the Health System and University needs and adding capabilities crucial to our investigators. Velos was selected as our research data management system in part because of their commitment to interoperability. U-M currently has over 900 studies defined in Velos (Comprehensive Cancer Center and Radiation Oncology), with more than 60,000 patients entered, and over 500 users. One significant example of the collaborative efforts is the co-development of integrated specimen management capabilities for Velos eResearch. U-M has spent more than a year defining business requirements and technical specification for, and is funding the development of, this capability. In addition, CRIC personnel have participated in leadership roles in the Clinical Informatics IT Roundtable Working Group on Future Requirements for Clinical Research Informatics.
Support:
MICHR Clinical Research Informatics Core Operational Support (MCOps) is a team that provides training and service for system related activities for research within MICHR.
Contact:
Jim Maszatics
Clinical Research Informatics Core (CRIC) Manager
E-mail: jmaszati@umich.edu
Phone: 734-998-7215
Moira Dowling
Project Manager (CRIC)
E-mail: mdowling@umich.edu
Phone: 734-998-7113
Namrata Rajeev
IT Project Manager (CRIC)
E-mail: nrajeev@umich.edu
Phone: 734-998-7244
For more information about CRIC, please call (734) 998-7474 or email michr-support@umich.edu.
