(l to r): A panel discussion featuring CTSA representatives, including Signe Denmark (MUSC), Liz Grodin (TriNetX moderator), Madeline Gibson (UAB), and Pam Christie (UAMS)Research Commons Program Manager and CCTS TriNetX Liaison Madeline J. Gibson, MPH, traveled to Boston to share informatics-based tips to empower study recruitment and enrollment at the second annual TriNetX conference, an invitation-only event that took place September 25-26 in Boston, MA. Representatives from across the CTSA consortium, healthcare organizations, Contract Research Organizations (CROs) and industry sponsors attended.

The CCTS Hub uses TriNetX’s Trial Connect platform to leverage informatics in bringing industry-sponsored clinical study opportunities to UAB. Sponsors and CROs looking for study sites query TriNetX members’ de-identified medical records to determine which have the patient population of interest. If the Hub offers a feasible cohort, CCTS Research Commons and CCTS Informatics receive a notification about the potential study opportunity.

Gibson participated in a panel discussion on “Recruitment: From Patient Count to Enrolled Subject,” which focused on procedures for translating a TriNetX query on de-identified patients into an identified patient set that can be used by clinical teams to improve the Hub’s success with enrollment. She described how CCTS uses informatics to identify both potential patients and their treating physicians.

 “Our informatics team translates TriNetX queries into internal i2b2 queries to provide an exact patient count and a list of treating physicians who are then contacted about their interest in pursuing the opportunity. Once study teams are activated and IRB approval is in place, CCTS Informatics provides the study team with a corresponding list of medical record numbers.” 

Other CTSA representatives contributed to a panel discussion addressing best practices for approaching healthcare organizations about new trial opportunities through the Trial Connect platform. The brainstorming session was dedicated to the informational and operational needs of CTSAs to better engage them via the platform.

TriNetX rolled out several new features at Summit 2018, including:

• new analytics for propensity scores
• a visual depiction of patient treatment pathways
• front-end techniques that make protocols more efficient and feasible once they are adopted at study sites

Inspired by the meeting, Gibson will work with the CCTS Informatics team to further refine the patient data sets provided to study teams at the Hub.

Congratulations to our CCTS Informatics Team, which is leading the way in i2b2 integration with TriNetX. To learn more about TriNetX and i2b2 integration at the Hub, see “Following the Data to Tee Up Clinical Trial Opportunities for Investigators.” Contact Research Commons to learn more about i2b2 and how to participate in TriNetX studies.

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Madeline Gibson for her representation of CCTS at the TriNetX Summit and her contributions to this news brief.