Congress Abstracts 2004

57

CAPTURING RESEARCH DATA AT POINT OF CARE: ELECTRONIC RESEARCH. Pamela Roberts, RN, MSN, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

Capturing accurate toxicity data in a timely manner is an ongoing challenge in the clinical trials arena. A group of research nurses at a large clinical trials office attempted to solve this dilemma by creating a standardized paper toxicity assessment form. This development was further improved by the creation of an electronic version of this form, The Universal Toxicity Database (UTdb). The UTdb allows collection of research data at point of care.

The process begins when a research nurse initiates a patient visit electronically by entering all toxicities and medications for a particular visit. Toxicity information is standardized in drop-down choice sets from the NCI Common Toxicity Criteria. Toxicities and medications without stop dates are rolled forward for subsequent visits. Each entry is stored in a relational database and then printed as a visit summary in text format to the patient’s electronic medical record within one hour.

The outcomes were observed as follows: The UTdb promotes better assessment and collection of toxicities in the research setting for several reasons. The roll-forward feature saves time and prevents error in transcription, ensures follow-up of all previously reported toxicities, and promotes continuity of care for cross-coverage. Point-of-care data collection, standardization, and relational storage allow immediate data extracts. These extracts are beneficial for safety concerns, recognition of toxicity trends across studies utilizing the same drug, dose changes for phase I studies, and abstract information for papers. Printing this information to the electronic medical record allows faster access to clinical data for all concerned in patient care and a more timely completion of study case report forms.

Because the system has been so successful, future plans are to implement Web- and palm-based versions to further support the effort toward a paperless system and for greater portability.