As a Top-Tier Research I institution, the University of Utah is moving into another exciting stage for research. The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (formerly Center for Clinical and Translational Science) in conjunction with the Health Information Technology Services has embarked into a major implementation of new technology across our campus that will support researchers, research teams, and provide the infrastructure to manage compliance and administrative aspects of clinical trials.
“At University of Utah Health, we endeavor to not only make major scientific advances at the bench, but to bring discoveries through the full translational spectrum. This requires a battery of modern tools and resources. With OnCore, we add a comprehensive clinical trials management system that will support investigators, research staff and administrators by giving them a well-established tool to improve the planning and implementation of clinical research across campus.”
-Will Dere, MD, FACP, Associate Vice President for Research
The expansion of OnCore across the entire campus and an upgrade to the research module in Epic (Epic Research) will provide this support and information for our institution to be more strategic in planning research in the future for investigator-initiated, federal, and commercial trials.
“After years of being used by the Huntsman Cancer Institute, OnCore will provide a unified clinical research management system across all parts of the University which will increase our institutional efficiency. It will also provide enhanced management of protocols—from budget development to milestone payments to participant payments—that will streamline the conduct of clinical research.”
-Rachel Hess, MD, MS,Chief, Division of Health System Innovation and Research
In addition, the system will provide modules that support regulatory document management, leaving behind the thousands of pages of paper documents held in binders for review. The Payments module will be implemented to efficiently pay research participants for their participation in research. An electronic data capture (EDC) module allows researchers to create data collection forms that are tied directly to their studies and can be linked to the Epic system.
"OnCore will be instrumental in helping investigators and their research staff during implementation of clinical protocols, bringing tools for storage and inspection of essential documents, handling incentive payments for research participants, and enabling immediate access to up-to-date accrual rates."
-Mike Dean, MD, MBA, Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Pediatrics
Epic Research will interact with OnCore and provide the research billing support that has been available with the uTRAC system that most clinical research teams have become familiar with throughout the years. Features for the research billing process have been enhanced and more streamlined. In addition, Epic Research can assist research teams with recruitment efforts and interactions with research participants through My Chart.
“OnCore, in combination with the upgrade to Epic Research, provides University research teams with tools to streamline workflow processes, enhance patient safety, assure adherence to protocol requirements, and remain compliant with state and federal regulations governing clinical research. As an institution, we will increase our reporting capabilities and strategic planning abilities along with increasing recovery of contracted costs owed to study teams from external funding partners.”
-Michael Good, MD, CEO, University of Utah Health, Dean, University of Utah School of Medicine, Senior Vice-President for Health Sciences
The CTSI projected timeline is Spring 2022 for both systems to be fully functional. To learn more information about the project’s progress you can refer to the OnCore website (https://ctsi.utah.edu/crso/oncore) and sign up for the listserv. You can also email the CTSI OnCore team at oncore-support@hsc.utah.edu. If you would like to contact any of the members of the OnCore team directly, please feel free to do so. We would love to get to know you and hear from you!
Tonya Edvalson – Programs Manager – tonya.edvalson@hsc.utah.edu
Mariessa Turner – Training and Development Coordinator – mariessa.turner@hsc.utah.edu
Jaci Skidmore – Director of Operations – jaci.skidmore@hsc.utah.edu