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The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN).

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ferranti, JM; Gilbert, W; McCall, J; Shang, H; Barros, T; Horvath, MM
Published in: Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA
June 2012

Failure to reach research subject recruitment goals is a significant impediment to the success of many clinical trials. Implementation of health-information technology has allowed retrospective analysis of data for cohort identification and recruitment, but few institutions have also leveraged real-time streams to support such activities.Duke Medicine has deployed a hybrid solution, The Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN), that combines both retrospective warehouse data and clinical events contained in prospective Health Level 7 (HL7) messages to immediately alert study personnel of potential recruits as they become eligible.DISCERN analyzes more than 500000 messages daily in service of 12 projects. Users may receive results via email, text pages, or on-demand reports. Preliminary results suggest DISCERN's unique ability to reason over both retrospective and real-time data increases study enrollment rates while reducing the time required to complete recruitment-related tasks. The authors have introduced a preconfigured DISCERN function as a self-service feature for users.The DISCERN framework is adoptable primarily by organizations using both HL7 message streams and a data warehouse. More efficient recruitment may exacerbate competition for research subjects, and investigators uncomfortable with new technology may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in recruitment.DISCERN's hybrid framework for identifying real-time clinical events housed in HL7 messages complements the traditional approach of using retrospective warehoused data. DISCERN is helpful in instances when the required clinical data may not be loaded into the warehouse and thus must be captured contemporaneously during patient care. Use of an open-source tool supports generalizability to other institutions at minimal cost.

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Published In

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA

DOI

EISSN

1527-974X

ISSN

1067-5027

Publication Date

June 2012

Volume

19

Issue

e1

Start / End Page

e68 / e75

Related Subject Headings

  • Patient Selection
  • Papillomavirus Vaccines
  • North Carolina
  • Medical Informatics
  • Internet
  • Humans
  • Health Level Seven
  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated
  • Computer Communication Networks
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
 

Citation

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Ferranti, J. M., Gilbert, W., McCall, J., Shang, H., Barros, T., & Horvath, M. M. (2012). The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN). Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 19(e1), e68–e75. https://doi.org/10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000115
Ferranti, Jeffrey M., William Gilbert, Jonathan McCall, Howard Shang, Tanya Barros, and Monica M. Horvath. “The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN).Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA 19, no. e1 (June 2012): e68–75. https://doi.org/10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000115.
Ferranti JM, Gilbert W, McCall J, Shang H, Barros T, Horvath MM. The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN). Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 2012 Jun;19(e1):e68–75.
Ferranti, Jeffrey M., et al. “The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN).Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, vol. 19, no. e1, June 2012, pp. e68–75. Epmc, doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000115.
Ferranti JM, Gilbert W, McCall J, Shang H, Barros T, Horvath MM. The design and implementation of an open-source, data-driven cohort recruitment system: the Duke Integrated Subject Cohort and Enrollment Research Network (DISCERN). Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA. 2012 Jun;19(e1):e68–e75.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA

DOI

EISSN

1527-974X

ISSN

1067-5027

Publication Date

June 2012

Volume

19

Issue

e1

Start / End Page

e68 / e75

Related Subject Headings

  • Patient Selection
  • Papillomavirus Vaccines
  • North Carolina
  • Medical Informatics
  • Internet
  • Humans
  • Health Level Seven
  • Delivery of Health Care, Integrated
  • Computer Communication Networks
  • Clinical Trials as Topic