Yale University Deploys Integration Between its EMR and Forte's OnCore

MADISON, Wis. and NEW HAVEN, Conn., June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Forte Research Systems, a leading developer of specialized clinical trial management systems (CTMS) and eClinical research solutions, and the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation are pleased to announce that Yale has deployed new interfaces between the OnCore^® eClinical Research solution and the university's electronic medical record (EMR), Epic. The groundbreaking integration facilitates communication of clinical trial data from OnCore to the EMR to help streamline processes for research staff, and strengthen patient safety and billing compliance.

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The industry standards-based interfaces went live at Yale on February 1 and include:

1) Interface for Protocol and Subject Information: OnCore sends protocol and subject information to the EMR.¹ The subject status is communicated from OnCore to the EMR so a patient can be flagged within the EMR to indicate they are a research participant.

2) Protocol Billing Grid Interface: Procedure billing designations are indicated at the protocol level within OnCore, which then provides this information to the EMR for use in determining how to route charges.²

Collaborative Effort

The collaborative effort between Yale, Forte Research Systems and Epic, using new standards for interfacing systems, marks an important milestone in the industry and makes it possible for other organizations to take advantage of similar integrations.  

"The integration project is integral to enhancing our clinical research operations," said Tesheia Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. "We see it as an opportunity to eliminate duplicate data entry, strengthen research billing compliance, and streamline communication throughout our institution."

It is also a milestone achievement in Forte's mission to improve clinical research operations through integrated technology. "This is another major step forward in breaking down silos between systems and providing greater efficiencies for research operations," said Srini Kalluri, Founder, President, and Chief Customer Officer at Forte Research Systems.

Tony O'Hare, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Collaboration Officer at Forte, points to the company's commitment to collaboration as a major contributor to the project's success. "Forte is committed to collaborating with customers to guide the development of the OnCore system," he said. "Our community voiced a need for integration between OnCore and EMR systems. We listened to this need and brought the stakeholders to the table to make the integration a reality."  

¹OnCore currently interfaces with Epic EMR via the industry standard Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) Retrieve Process for Execution (RPE) profile. OnCore can interface with other electronic medical records systems when those systems use the RPE standard.

²The interface uses the IHE Clinical Research Process Content (CRPC) profile, a supplement to the RPE profile, providing study definition content using the HL7 Study Design Structured Document.

About Forte Research Systems, Inc.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Forte Research Systems, Inc. develops and markets clinical and translational research software for better research compliance, patient safety, operational efficiency, and financial viability. The company's flagship product, the OnCore^® eClinical Research solution, has been meeting the needs of academic medical centers, CTSAs, research hospitals, and cancer centers for over a dozen years. Now, its proven electronic data capture platform is available as a stand-alone hosted solution for academic researchers, Overture™ EDC. For Research Sites, Site Networks, and SMOs, Forte offers Allegro^® CTMS. Forte is also host to the Clinical Research Blog and other resources for individuals interested in excellence in clinical research operations.

SOURCE Forte Research Systems, Inc.