The University of Alabama at Birmingham and UAB Medicine have begun the enterprise implementation of OnCore, a management system for clinical trials and study-related information. The system is being expanded across the School of Medicine in three waves, with the first wave focused on the Department of Medicine. The first phase of Wave One—which consisted of onboarding the Divisions of Cardiology, Endocrinology and Infectious Diseases—went live on Dec. 14. The second phase of Wave One, consisting of onboarding the remaining divisions within Department of Medicine, will go live on Jan. 22.
“I’d like to both congratulate and thank the Department of Medicine and everyone who has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this important initiative,” said Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, senior vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine. “It is very much a team effort, and it helps us achieve greater efficiency, improved patient safety and enhanced billing capacity.”
Already in use at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science, this system will be implemented across UAB in the coming year as a replacement to the current SiteMinder application.
Managing clinical trials across a large academic medical center and research institution presents a range of challenges. OnCore is designed to address these challenges and provide streamlined workflows, improved communication and transparency, and enhanced regulatory compliance.
OnCore and the clinical trials initiative have the capability to improve patient safety by providing clinicians with important information at the point of care through PowerTrials, a Cerner module now integrated in IMPACT, UAB’s electronic health record. With this connection, clinicians will see when patients are participating in clinical trials and will have access to useful study information to positively affect patient care.