UCLH research database gives ‘one click’ access to all clinical trials

‘Find a Study’ uses the Keytrials platform developed by Dr Wai Keong Wong, UCLH’s Chief Research Information Officer, working within the UCLH Clinical Research Informatics Unit (CRIU), to improve awareness of research and improve recruitment. The public can also access the platform.

The database – which supersedes the old UCLH Research Gateway – will link with UCLH’s electronic health record system, known as Epic, which was rolled out in March 2019 and is now used to manage patient care, with patients having access to their own record.

“Once in the Find a Study platform, clinicians and patients are just one mouse-click or screen tap away from seeing all studies at UCLH, or all studies filtered by disease area,” said Dr Wong.

“The integration with Epic is a key aspect of the database. Because clinicians and patients now use Epic on a routine basis, they are much more likely to access Find a Study compared with the old system, which will help drive recruitment to research studies, and increase awareness of the breadth of research we do at UCLH.”

The platform will alert clinicians and patients to trials the patient may be eligible for, based on previous searches they performed.

In future, developers hope to develop an ‘auto-matching’ system, where the platform will automatically suggest which trials a patient is suitable for, based on information in the patient’s electronic health record and eligibility criteria of studies.

While now publicly accessible, Find a Study will remain in development for the coming months, as developers use feedback from clinicians and patients to optimise the platform and improve user experience. A mobile app is also planned.

Keytrials technology was previously used in relation to blood cancer trials. Following a successful pilot, the platform was used to implement ‘Find a Study’ that covers all trials following a BRC grant in 2018.

View the ‘Find a Study’ database.