Supporting clinical research data management

Effective clinical data management is key to generating high-quality, reliable and statistically sound data from clinical trials and other studies. It is the process of collecting, cleaning and managing clinical data in compliance with regulatory standards. A researcher does not want to run the risk of having work disregarded because of missing or inaccurate data.

A number of software tools are available for clinical data management, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. This is why the Clinical Research Centre (CRC), in collaboration with eResearch, supports a number of clinical research data-management software tools.

UCT eResearch works with the CRC to support end users of the software. “The eResearch team mainly do the back-end work to install and maintain the systems, while the CRC provides front-end support,” says Annemie Stewart, data analyst at the CRC. “If a system has a bug, for instance, eResearch will contact the developer, install a newer version, or otherwise help resolve the issue. But when a user needs help navigating the system, creating a project within the system, we help from the CRC side.”

She says the partnership with eResearch has been of great value to the CRC: “eResearch is always willing to help find solutions to unique situations that researchers may face in their different projects.”

Image by Stephen Williams