Simbiote’s ReCES® Application Simplifies Participation in Pharmaceutical-Sponsored Research
OLIVE BRANCH, Miss.-(Business Wire)-September 24, 2009 - Simbiote Development, which develops software solutions to quantifiably improve quality of care, support risk management and strengthen revenue opportunities in physician practices, today introduced its Research Candidate Evaluation System (ReCES®) application, designed to automatically identify patients eligible to enroll in pharmaceutical-sponsored research. Practices are able to load study participation parameters into the system and providers are notified during an office visit if the patient might qualify.
Managing research participation is often considered an overwhelming prospect to medical practices because of the complex variables that must be monitored. Individual research programs often have 15 inclusion criteria – diagnoses, co-morbidities, medical history and other factors that might qualify the patient. Likewise, each study might have twice as many exclusion criteria – factors that prevent the patient from participating. Parameters are often time-sensitive, as well. For instance, exclusion criterion might require that the patient not have undergone specific diagnostic tests or received routine treatment within a specific period. Complexity is compounded when multiple research studies are available within a practice.
ReCES interfaces with a practice’s electronic health record system to sort through parameters for all studies a practice offers, and alerts the provider in real time if the patient might be a candidate, explains Randall T. Huling, MD, FAAFP, CPI, President of Simbiote Development and Olive Branch Medical Center (OBMC), which created the application to respond to needs identified by its own providers. “Similarly, if the patient enrolls, the technology provides notifications to the physician so the patient can be retained and not eliminated because of routine clinical decisions,” he notes.
The application supports practices wishing to participate in research in four ways:
1. Primary investigators (PI) save tremendous amounts of time evaluating whether or not a study makes sense of a given patient population. Parameters are loaded and a preliminary search of patient records identifies the volume of patients within the practice who are likely candidates. Rather than manually searching through thousands of charts, PIs know in moments if the study is a good fit.
2. Alerts that individual patients might be eligible for participation are triggered during an encounter. This allows the PI or provider to explain the risks, benefits and requirements of the study face-to-face. Candidates better understand the commitment and enrollment improves.
3. Once patients are enrolled, ReCES automatically notifies nurses and providers about tests, care or evaluations that cannot be done in accordance with the study. At the same time, it provides warnings about disqualifying events to greatly reduce actions that may unintentionally exclude the patient from the study.
4. ReCES significantly reduces provider opposition to participation in sponsored research. It supplies providers with an opportunity to take part in research without having to invest prohibitive amounts of personal time or staff resources in patient identification and monitoring.
“ReCES creates a win-win scenario,” Dr. Huling states. “Patients enrolled in studies benefit in many ways, as the costs of office visits, related equipment and medications are often paid by the study. Plus, patients may receive a stipend. And they receive enhanced care – like one-on-one relationships with nurses, immediate access to caregivers and expanded diagnostic protocols.”
The practice also benefits, he adds. “Not only do patients receive exemplary care and providers expand their clinical knowledge, studies also represent additional revenue.” OBMC, for instance, has added $500,000 to its annual income as a result of clinical research.
About Simbiote Development
Simbiote Development designs software solutions to quantifiably improve quality of care and patient compliance with care plans, support risk management, and strengthen revenue opportunities in physician practices. Applications, which integrate directly with electronic health record systems, have been developed within a growing clinical environment by physicians on the front lines of care delivery. Offerings include CareSentry®, automating care management efforts; OrderSentry®, monitoring follow-through on lab and referral orders; ReCES, advancing participation in sponsored research studies; and Template Explorer, providing extensive search capabilities for template field and trigger references to assist individuals in modifying select EHR templates. Each application is made available directly to practices across the country. For more information, visit www.simbiote.com.
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