The Effect of Integrating EMRs into EDC

With the advancements in technologies, the pharmaceutical landscape has been deeply transformed and antiquated methods such as paper-based record have been replaced by electronic record methods.

With the advancements in technologies, the pharmaceutical landscape has been deeply transformed and antiquated methods such as paper-based record have been replaced by electronic record methods. The healthcare industry has also experienced an important shift towards digitalization in the past few years, making electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic data capture (EDC) pivotal tools in medical research. Generally, EMRs are not under the purview of parties like sponsors or contract research organizations (CROs), which answer to regulations set by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA); instead, they typically belong to healthcare professionals, organizations, and institutions.

However, their integration with clinical trial EDC systems presents opportunities to enhance data accuracy and efficiency in data gathering for clinical trial researchers. The integration of EMRs and EDC can enable more feasible access and time burdens by automatically collecting relevant patient medical information into the EDC system. Keep reading as we discuss the significant effect that EMR-EDC integration can have on the efficiency and effectiveness of clinical trials.

Comprehending ERMS and EDC

Eletronic Medical Records

Replacing the paper-based medical records, EMRs contain all the relevant information pertaining to a patient’s medical history. These systems are designed to be feasible to healthcare providers, clinicians, and patients, and they enable real-time sharing of medical information between different healthcare providers. The digitalization of patient medical charts has helped provide quick access to patient medical histories, thus reducing medical errors and improving the accuracy of diagnoses and treatment plans.

Specific medical details can help researchers identify any potentially exclusionary or clinically significant medical condition that may affect their safety or the investigational product’s efficacy. In clinical research, EMRs can be used to identify potential trial participants, track patient enrolment, and monitor patients’ medical conditions throughout the trial. Thus, the information provided by EMRs ensures that the patients enrolled in the trial are appropriately suited to receive treatment and that the trial is conducted in a safe and ethical manner.

Eletronic Data Capture (EDC)

EDC is a computerized system for gathering data during clinical trials; they were originally designed to replace paper-based data capture methods, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors. These systems enable the collection, verification, and management of electronic data from clinical trials, as well as for capturing data from multiple sources, including EMRs, lab systems, electronic source (eSource), electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs), and other electronic medical devices.

Today’s EDC platforms allow automated data capture through the system and enable clinical site staff to reduce the time it takes to enter and analyze data; as a result, they can help improve the accuracy and reliability of data collected during clinical trials. This automation positively impacts the overall timeline of a clinical trial, potentially making new treatments available to patients with fewer delays. The use of EDC also replaces antiquated paper-based methods of data collection and manual data entry to minimize time-consuming inefficiencies within a site, as well as human errors in data entry.

 

3 Most Important Benefits of The EDC Integration with EMRs

1. Improved Data Quality

EMRs integration to EDC provides a high-quality primary source of data due to a complete and accurate record of a patient’s medical history, including past diagnoses, medications, and test results. Most significantly, this information can be used to ensure that patients meet the inclusion criteria for a particular clinical trial and to monitor their progress throughout the trial in addition to reduce the risk of errors that can occur when data is manually entered into a system.

Futher, not only would this integration reduce discrepancies caused by illegible handwriting or misplaced paper notes, clinical research associates (CRAs) and clinical research coordinators (CRCs) would also benefit from the possibility of centralized monitoring. EMR-EDC integration can also provide more seamless source data verification (SDV) for key pieces of eligibility information within a participant’s study file.

2. Enhanced Patient Safety

The nature of EMRs ensures principal investigators and researchers have access to the most comprehensive view of a patient’s medical chart, which can help identify potential safety concerns before a patient is enrolled in a clinical trial. Also, EDC systems can be designed to alert researchers to potential adverse events, allowing them to act quickly to protect patient safety. By integrating EMRs into EDC, researchers can also more easily track adverse events and monitor safety throughout the trial, including events related to treatment non-compliance or misunderstandings with dosing instructions.

3. Increased Efficiency

EMRs are digital platforms which receive information across an entire network of healthcare providers that each patient may see in their lifetime. This enables healthcare professionals to access patient information quickly and easily, which can reduce the time it takes to screen patients for a clinical trial. Additionally, integrating EMRs into EDC can help to optimize the process of patient recruitment.

Many health record systems often allow its users to conduct targeted data mining customized with specific filters, such as medical history, demographics, and current medication use. Site staff can use these capabilities to automatically identify potential candidates based on these filters with greater speed and efficiency. Patient recruitment is a time-consuming process as is, but the possibilities opened up by EMR-EDC integration would help conserve valuable time and resources from the sponsor’s, CRO’s, and site’s team of research professionals.

 

Meet MILO ECT Platform a EMRs and Its Integration to EMRS

Milo’s team recognizes how integration of EMRs with EDC systems can be game-changing for improving the clinical trial experience. Thereby, we provide essential features, including a consumer-friendly design, simplified real-time eCRF (Case Report Form) data input, and streamlined remote monitoring capabilities. More importantly, this EDC is the heart of Milo suite of eClinical software products, such as ePRO.

Data quality is essential for reliable research results. Our EDC simplifies the data collection process by minimizing human errors and providing ergonomic experience for professionals. Integrated checks and automatic validations ensure high-quality data, reducing error correction costs and enhancing research accuracy. Optimize your research center management with EDC integrated into Milo DCT. Data centralization and seamless collaboration among team members simplify operations. Intuitive dashboards allow you to monitor your research’s progress in real-time.