IRBNet Announces Release of National Research Network® 2011 Benchmark Report

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- At universities, hospital systems and government agencies large and small, ethics review boards tasked with overseeing the protection of human subjects in research are actively working to improve the timeliness, accuracy, and quality of reviews and research oversight. These Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are under tremendous obligation from federal regulation and face intense pressure from medical device and drug companies pushing to complete research projects. Limited resources frequently hamstring IRB research oversight effectiveness. Institutions are further challenged to objectively evaluate and identify opportunities for improving the quality of oversight.

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Responding to this need, IRBNet, the leader in global Institutional Review Board (IRB) management solutions, has released the National Research Network 2011 Benchmark Report. 

The National Research Network 2011 Benchmark Report includes more than 90 detailed performance metrics for both biomedical and social / behavioral research institutions, including hospitals, universities and government agencies. Produced from actual National Research Network data, these benchmarks illuminate the activity and productivity of investigators, as well as the IRB administrative offices and reviewers charged with oversight responsibility. The report is provided as a service to the human subject research community, to assist research organizations in assessing internal performance.

This annual report is powered by IRBNet's industry-leading compliance management and data reporting capabilities, and the National Research Network's global presence. The data-driven benchmarks enable research institutions of all types and sizes to concretely measure and compare ethics review processes and performance, for the benefit of research subjects, the institutions themselves, and the research community at large.

The 2011 Benchmark Report offers insights into compliance oversight that were not previously available. According to Mr. Andrew Olmsted, Vice President of IRBNet, "This year's report allows readers not only to understand how an IRB's processes contribute to more or less efficient approval processes, but, for the first time, how investigators and study coordinators contribute to these metrics as well."

For the first time, readers of this year's report can parse "time to first approval" into three component performance metrics — Investigator Errors/Omissions, Committee Review, and Investigator Response to Committee Decisions. "Our goal was to provide a more complete picture of the major components of the IRB approval process," continued Mr. Olmsted, "and also provide objective metrics for the entire human subjects research community. Institutions have powerful evidence of the shared roles and responsibilities found in high-performing research enterprises."

For example, more than 32% of the time required to approve new protocols via convened review is due to investigator errors and omissions and subsequent investigator rework as required by review committees.

"For more than twenty years, the research community has been talking about the potential for information technology to actually improve and facilitate the human research protections process," said Dr. Greg Koski of Harvard Medical School and former director of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office for Human Research Protections. "At the same time, we've recognized the need for more empirical data to gain insight into the process itself. The National Research Network and its annual Benchmark Report are demonstrating both the validity of the vision and the reality of this capability. IRBNet is to be commended for enabling and undertaking this important initiative."

Dr. Koski continued, "Through initiatives like the National Research Network Benchmark Report series, we are now beginning to see the light. The growing availability of relevant, data-based metrics serves the entire research community – including investigators, managers, and policy makers as well – as we consider the ways and means to truly improve not only what we are doing but how we are doing it." 

Mr. Olmsted elaborated, "IRBNet is a dedicated partner in the advancement of ethical human subject research management. We strive to continuously improve research management and compliance oversight solutions for the global research community through the many tools available online on the National Research Network®. IRBNet is proud to serve large and small human subject research institutions alike and we are very pleased to contribute the National Research Network 2011 Benchmark Report to the human subject research protection community."

The National Research Network 2011 Benchmark Report can be downloaded for free at: http://irbnetresources.org/news/benchmark2011.html

About IRBNet

IRBNet offers the world's most widely used electronic solution for managing research compliance for institutions of any size, with more than 1600 large, medium and small research institutions, boards and research sites registered on the National Research Network®. National Research Network® members benefit from secure online access to comprehensive research oversight tools anywhere, anytime, including real-time collaboration between investigators and institutions anywhere in the world. The National Research Network Enterprise Portal further enables institutions to navigate the complex federal ethics compliance requirements governing human, animal, and recombinant DNA research, while seamlessly managing Conflict of Interest, Sponsored Programs and other critical research oversight activities. With the release of the National Research Network 2011 Benchmark Report, IRBNet's unparalleled data-driven performance metrics make it easier than ever for universities and colleges, community hospitals, hospital networks, and federal and state agencies to benchmark internal performance and drive process improvement across multiple sites and complex organizational systems.

IRBNet and National Research Network are marks of Research Dataware, LLC. All rights are reserved and no use of the marks is permitted without the express written consent of Research Dataware, LLC.

For further information on IRBNet, please visit https://www.irbnet.org.

CONTACT: [email protected]

SOURCE IRBNet