Data integration between clinical research and patient care: A framework for context-depending data sharing and in silico predictions

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The transfer of new insights from basic or clinical research into clinical routine is usually a lengthy and time-consuming process. Conversely, there are still many barriers to directly provide and use routine data in the context of basic and clinical research. In particular, no coherent software solution is available that allows a convenient and immediate bidirectional transfer of data between concrete treatment contexts and research settings. Here, we present a generic framework that integrates health data (e.g., clinical, molecular) and computational analytics (e.g., model predictions, statistical evaluations, visualizations) into a clinical software solution which simultaneously supports both patient-specific healthcare decisions and research efforts, while also adhering to the requirements for data protection and data quality. Specifically, our work is based on a recently established generic data management concept, for which we designed and implemented a web-based software framework that integrates data analysis, visualization as well as computer simulation and model prediction with audit trail functionality and a regulation-compliant pseudonymization service. Within the front-end application, we established two tailored views: a clinical (i.e., treatment context) perspective focusing on patient-specific data visualization, analysis and outcome prediction and a research perspective focusing on the exploration of pseudonymized data. We illustrate the application of our generic framework by two use-cases from the field of haematology/oncology. Our implementation demonstrates the feasibility of an integrated generation and backward propagation of data analysis results and model predictions at an individual patient level into clinical decision-making processes while enabling seamless integration into a clinical information system or an electronic health record.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e0000140
JournalPLOS digital health
Volume2
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - May 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC10184916
ORCID /0000-0002-2524-1199/work/149439275
unpaywall 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000140

Keywords