Wayne State University's Michigan Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science Selects the OnCore System to Support Centralized Clinical Research Operations
In support of its new Michigan Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science (MACTS), Wayne State University (WSU) has implemented the OnCore® Clinical Research Management system (OnCore-CRM) from Forte Research Systems, Inc. to support its centralized clinical research operations.
"The university recognized that we need to be providing centralized clinical research services for our investigators," said Michael Diamond, MD, director of MACTS, who helped spearhead the search for a clinical trials management system to support the new institute.
When looking for a system, Dr. Diamond's team knew that the system had to be easy to use, be able to create subject calendars, include functionality for billing and financial management capabilities, and have appropriate privacy and HIPAA controls.
Dr. Diamond points out that, while the OnCore system does have all the required functionality they were looking for, there were also some synergies with the clinical research operations at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, which is also affiliated with WSU.
"We thought there might be some opportunity for efficiencies of scale in the future since Karmanos was already utilizing the OnCore system, although not exactly the same way that we have set it up," said Dr. Diamond.
"It's an amazing opportunity to be helping support such an ambitious project. It's always a pleasure to see an organization streamline their operations and bring diverse research groups and multiple investigators together, in part through the use of a unified informatics system," said Srini Kalluri, President and CEO of Forte Research Systems.
The group at WSU MACTS began implementing the system early last year and went live on October 22, 2010.
"So far, we've been very impressed with Forte Research's staff and their responsiveness," said Dr. Diamond.
About the WSU Michigan Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science
The Wayne State University Michigan Alliance for Clinical and Translational Science consortium is founded on the vision to become the national model for the conduct of clinical and translational research in an inner-city setting, by creating a comprehensive, coordinated and integrated model for researching aspects of urban health. Their three core goals are to:
1) Increase the volume and quality of clinical and translational research studies.
2) Develop the next generation of clinical and translational researchers, with particular emphasis on inclusion of those from historically underrepresented minority groups.
3) Achieve wider participation of diverse populations in clinical trials.
The emphasis on urban health reflects the uniquely diverse community within the Detroit metropolitan region served by WSU MACTS. The consortium focuses on engaging minority groups in clinical research efforts with particular emphasis on reducing barriers to access to participation by expanding outreach, increasing trust between community members and academic health care providers, improving cultural competency of health care providers, and expanding the numbers of minority clinical and translational scientists, so that, among other goals, research questions are motivated by a broad range of perspectives, mirroring the face of America.
The MACTS program has research strengths in the areas of cancer, neurosciences, and women and children's health. An urban focus leads to prioritization of research efforts within each of these strength areas, resulting in special implications for the surrounding urban population.
For more information about MACTS, visit http://macts.urcmich.org.