Clinical data repositories (CDR) can facilitate better healthcare, but major challenges remain to widespread adoption
Clinical data is growing in massive numbers, and medical health records are going electronic at a rapid pace. Clinical data repository software (CDR) brings together a huge variety of data for a single view of patients, but there are some big issues remaining in the market. Abundant storage capacity and computing power are a necessity, and pulling data from legacy systems and many disparate applications can be daunting. Health informatics is still in its early days, and healthcare technology is often siloed. Data comes in different formats, too, and hospital mergers only complicate efforts to streamline.
For CDR companies to succeed, they must contain smart technology that can pull clinical data and financial medical records from all systems: the doctor’s office, pharmacy and insurance companies. Security is essential at the database, transaction and application levels, so access policies must be well-defined and patient identifiers omitted when data is used for clinical trials or obtaining grant funding. Trends toward improved analytics and predictive modeling continue to grow, as do trends toward integration with application databases. Smaller providers may hold off on CDR adoption, especially as the move toward electronic health record systems (EHR) conversion consumes budgets and schedules. Data integration and data quality vendors may come into play as organizations move to Clinical Data Repository Software CDR.
Best-in-Class Clinical Data Repository Software Features:
- Ability to do intelligent data modeling, bring together disparate source data and easily manage user data requests
- Offers complete and complex data protection features
- Supports reporting tools, streamlines audit process and meets compliance requirements
Top Considerations before Buying Clinical Data Repository Software CDR Products:
Clinical data repository software should collect data from all available sources and medical devices and integrate with other clinical information systems (CIS) and databases for a complete patient medical record. Developments like cloud computing and commercial healthcare ventures by Microsoft and Google could help CDR software mature. Top-notch CDR software can support data interchange standards, easily define access policies and query for both data and context. Web-based viewers can adapt to multiple applications. CDR software will be able to adapt to future health projects as healthcare keeps evolving electronic health records (EHR) and clinical information systems.
Key Products:
1. Sunquest Information Systems, Inc. develops laboratory information systems, barcode point of care, and their Outreach Advantage solutions. Their solutions are all designed to create workflow excellence, decrease turnaround time and length of stay, boost productivity and give clinicians actionable results. Sunquest’s Diagnostic Intelligence offers real-time, dashboard-driven operational and clinical metrics. Their industry share includes more than 37% of U.S. hospitals.
2. Picis delivers solutions for high-acuity care: the emergency department, the operating room and the intensive care unit. Picis software is part of the CareSuite product line. For clinicians, Picis CDR software automates data collection from a variety of medical devices and integrates the data with online patient flowsheets. Data is provided in real time, and complete electronic health records pull data from different hospital settings. Picis also provides the ED PulseCheck emergency department information system (EDIS), which manages more than 9 million ED patients annually.
3. eWebHealth, now owned by Hyland Software, is a provider of medical record workflow solutions. It uses a SaaS delivery model to simplify use and implementation. Hyland’s OnBase software suite automates manual processes and converts paper files to electronic documents. It also integrates with electronic medical records (EMR) and handles audit and standards requirements. And, Hyland’s software is offered via several delivery methods including SaaS or on-premise.
4. Health Access Solutions is the developer of Access Express, which improves medical management productivity and physician communications by linking the physician, medical director and service organization electronically. Providers gain a secure, compliant web portal while medical management staff gets automated workflows. Access Express serves HMOs, and offers scalability and easy integration. It makes referrals easier and eliminates faxes and phone calls.
5. The MIDAS+ Statit Physician Profile & Review (PPR) solution is a web-based system that allows medical providers easy access to their individual performance dashboards, which contain up-to-the-moment performance data, annual and interim reviews and patient data details. MIDAS+ Statit PPR automatically updates and displays indicator data from existing MIDAS+ products and other data sources, including financial performance, patient satisfaction data, and other information. PPR helps eliminate manual reporting and identify improvement areas throughout the healthcare system.
Clinical Data Repository
Definition: Clinical Data Repository Software (CDR) manages a patient’s Clinical Data Repository (CDR). A CDR is a real-time database that consolidates data from a variety of clinical data sources to present a unified view of a single patient.
