Clinical Research Data Warehouse

After you submit a request (use the button link at the top of this webpage), you will be contacted by a member of the CRDW analytics team to set up a meeting to discuss your data needs. Please note, the CRDW provides support in access to data; however, we do not advise on statistical analysis plans or methodology. For support with methodology, please check out resources at BBMC (for Pediatrics investigators) and OSCTR. 

At this meeting, we will discuss your request and learn more about how we can address your study's needs. Topics of conversation will include:

• Inclusion criteria and how this can be identified in EMR (e.g., ICD codes, CPT codes, visit locations, medication lists, etc.). 
  • If IRB is already approved, it can be helpful to have examples available to review so we can validate and verify we are identifying the correct data.
• Timelines/deadlines
• IRB considerations

For some projects, we may need to send your team files to specify some criteria. For instance, we may send you an ICD range or all medications that have a certain set of characters and request that you define which are the appropriate to use by choosing True/False for each type.  

The time it will take to process your request will vary widely depending on several factors including existing workloads, deadlines, how complicated a request is, how responsive your team is about questions, and needing to do additional processing to access data.  CRDW is obligated to prioritize projects that contribute funding to support our mission.

Once we have assembled your data, we will meet with you to verify we have correctly retrieved data that meets the needs and the IRB-approved specifications of your project.  

If your project will require use of a larger dataset, or if you are sharing any data outside of OUHSC/OU Health (even in aggregate), you must also submit a request to the Clinical Research Informatics Oversight Committee at https://redcap.link/crioc_review .

As shown on the diagram below, the CDRW can be represented by six columns. 

The first column consist of EMR and other databases. To feed into the data warehouse, we receive nightly refreshes of data that are then cleaned and restructured using Extract, Transform, and Load (ETL) processes (second column) and stored in the data warehouse (third column). 

When an investigation receives IRB approval, we can develop a smaller database that contains the specific dataset needed for their analysis (4th and 5th columns). 

Finally, individual investigators and authorized personnel following all applicable rules and laws can access these data at any time.

• Legacy EHR systems:
  • Centricity/Athena
  • Billing and Claims
  • Meditech
• Epic 
• Dozens of departmental sources
• Biomedical Research Data
• Provider data
• External agencies (Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, etc.)
• Administrative cost

• Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN)
• Oncologic Outcomes in Renal Cell Carcinoma
• N3C (National COVID Cohort Collaborative)
  • Investigators who would like access to the N3C Enclave should reach out to us!

Data will be obtained from (*list data sources here*), (*some/all*) of which currently reside as data sources in the OUHSC Clinical Research Data Warehouse (CRDW). The CRDW is managed by the Biomedical and Behavioral Methodology Core (BBMC; https://ouhsc.edu/bbmc/). Data from these systems will be queried to: (*modify as needed: identify eligible participants and extract clinical information to support recruitment and/or analysis*). 

Eligible participants will be meet the following conditions for inclusion: (*list age, gender, race, ethnicity, diagnosis, visit/admission, location of care, or other requirements*). Data extracted to support this study will include: (*select all that apply: patient identifiers, demographics, appointment/visit information, labs, medications, orders, provider notes*), and other relevant clinical documentation. Information will be released to authorized study personnel via (*select the preferred method of delivery: a csv file, REDcap, write to secure file server, other*).

If you are using data from EHR (Epic, Centricity/athenaFlow, Meditech, GE Centricity Billing or Scheduling), and the project involves sharing outside of University/OUH for any reason in any form, please also submit the details about your project to the Clinical Research Informatics Oversight Committee (CRIOC) for review. Even if data to be shared are only in aggregate, please follow this process. Most researchers working with Office of Research Administration for a Data Use Agreement or Data Sharing Agreement will be referred to CRIOC, but you do not need to wait for this to initiate the process.

CRDW can work on assembling your request prior to CRIOC approval, but if your project will require CRIOC approval, we will be unable to release any data with PHI until approval is obtained.