Our informatics team is dedicated to optimizing the conduct of high quality clinical and translational research. We assist investigators during project conceptualization, grant submission, and deployment of secure data storage and processing methods.
To connect with an SMPH Informatics team member to discuss your clinical research study, please
Our Services
Data queries and extraction
Provide data from the UW Health Electronic Health Record (EHR) to research teams for a variety of clinical research purposes including feasibility, recruitment, and analysis.
EHR development
Program research functions in the EHR to support interventions, facilitate recruitment, develop alerts, and smooth research logistics at the point of care.
Research Computing and Data Storage
Allows clinical investigators to have a secure environment to host and process data.
Tools
Learn more about tools available to SMPH Researchers. Please note that you will need to sign in with your NetID to follow these links.
REDCap
Web-based application for study teams to use in building and managing data collection forms.
Florence eBinders
Replaces paper documents and physical binders for human subject research study documents. Efficient, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant for electronically signing, managing, storing, and sharing documents.
Platform X
A secure, NIST and HIPAA-compliant, computing environment built within the Microsoft Azure cloud environment.
iLab
iLab is an online tool for researchers that streamlines service requests, equipment reservations, and billing with UW shared services.
OnCore
A centralized Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) that allows researchers to use one program to manage all components of clinical research while maintaining consistency and compliance across the institution.
Docusign
Enables both internal and external users to upload and send documents, track the status of those documents, and obtain electronic signatures from the parties involved.
Clinical Data from UW Health Systems
We assist UW Madison investigators obtaining clinical data from UW Health systems. Data types include:
- Preparatory to Research Counts
- Participant Recruitment & Enrollment
- Retrospective Data for Research
- Data for Quality Improvement Project (QI)
- Video from Clinical Systems
- Clinical Data Repositories and Registries
This data can be used to support your research including feasibility assessments, recruitment of participants, pilot studies, and retrospective analyses.
Data requests that involve more detailed data than simple feasibility counts, and may require IRB approval or waiver depending upon whether the request contains only de-identified data, a limited data set, or fully identified data.
EHR development
In partnership with UW Health Informatics Services, researchers can use Epic as a platform to support interventions, support recruitment, develop alerts, and facilitate research logistics at the point of care.
Some types and uses of EHR developments include:
- Data collection with SmarText, SmartForms
- Research protocols with Flowsheets, Order Sets
- Recruitment by using Best Practice Alerts (BPAs), Reporting Workbench
How to Obtain Data through SMPH Informatics
Start by Submitting a Consult form
- Submit a Consult form and select “I need assistance from the informatics team” under the Preparatory to Research Activities heading.
- Pick the most accurate description of your data needs and provide any additional information requested, including IRB review status and project funding if available.
- Fill out as much of the optional Data Elements section at the end of the form as you can.
Learn More About Research Protections
Frequently Asked Questions:
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Do I need IRB approval?
Research
IRB approval is required for data requests that require identifiable private information and that meets the federal definition of research. The UW-Madison Health Sciences Institutional Review Board (HS-IRB) website has more guidance, e.g., Does My Research Need IRB Review? and Change in Personnel guidance.
Activities preparatory to research
De-identified data requests to determine study feasibility or plans for participant recruitment do NOT require IRB review. Active participant recruitment DOES need IRB approval.
How do I request clinical research data?
Clinical data can be requested through the informatics consult form. The more preparation you do, the better we can help you with your data request. To help you fill out the optional Data Elements section of the consult form, begin by creating a detailed description of the patients who are relevant to your research question, including dates of service, demographics, diagnoses, procedures, treatments, and lab tests and determining exact ICD9, ICD10 and CPT codes for your query. Other elements to consider include:
- Inclusion and exclusion criteria
- Inclusion Date Range
- Study population (age, gender, race, ethnicity)
- Data elements needed
- Define the constraints (filters)
- Inpatient
- Outpatient
- “Medical home” here
- Department restrictions
- Data format for delivery
What should I expect after I’ve submitted my request?
Step 1: Initial review
We start by evaluating requests to make sure your request is clear, complete, and feasible for us to fulfill. We’ll also verify that the primary requester or the PI is an authorized UW investigator.
Step 2: Fulfillment
Once you and your colleagues are verified as authorized users and IRB approval is confirmed, we can fulfill your data request. When the data is ready, we will email you with instructions for accessing your data.
Step 3: Working with your data
After your request is fulfilled, we are available to help you better understand and work with your data. This may involve assistance with data visualization and identifying caveats in the clinical data.
What if I need more informatics support?
We can also help you work with your data.
Complete the consult form below if you want to:
- Get help managing your data.
- Get informatics support for grant applications.
- Be introduced to other informatics experts.