With the help of Epic’s new Life Sciences programme, more patients will now be able to participate in clinical trials, and the creation of new research will be better supported.
According to Epic’s announcement, the various systems now being used for clinical research might be difficult for patients and clinicians. To improve participant recruitment and hasten the development of novel treatments, Epic is testing a new data-driven tool that will initially concentrate on clinical trial matching. Physicians who register will receive customised Cosmos database searches for trial validation.
According to Epic, the technological and staffing obstacles to study initiation can be reduced by automating data flow in the EHR and removing redundant operations through a single system.
The development of new therapies will be accelerated by making studies more productive, efficient, and available, according to Alan Hutchison, vice president at Epic. Trying to unite clinical studies with patient care and establishing a clear relationship with study sponsors will help speed up the creation of new therapies, he said.
More than 100,000 research studies involving 4.7 million patients are carried out by Epic providers. Point-of-care information on when patients might be eligible for a clinical trial is provided by the programme.
Vice president of research and development at Epic, Seth Howard stated in the release that more successful enrolment can also help guarantee that clinical trials serve more diverse populations.
A physician at Epic who works in clinical informatics, Dr. Jackie Gerhart, stated this past March that Cosmos, the database engine underlying the new Life Sciences programme at Epic, at the time, housed 140 million patient records and 2.2 billion clinician visits. Physicians have the option to participate in the system, which needs donations in order to use the data. The de-identified patient data can be used for inquiries by participating providers.
According to Gerhart, by late 2023, Epic is working to incorporate a Best Treatment for My Patient display that will enable physicians to customise care delivery on an individual basis. By comparing patient health criteria with the data, the technology will enable doctors to search for pertinent Cosmos data at the moment of service.
Then, doctors could see how others who fit the criteria were handled and how their cases turned out. Many businesses are developing data-driven tools to enhance the EHR user experience and lessen physician stress, as per EHR usability specialists like Gerhart.
By analysing the millions of patients and interactions in Cosmos and demonstrating what has worked well for comparable patients, she said, the system would eventually assist clinicians in making crucial clinical decisions, such as which medication to administer or whether to undergo surgery.
In announcing the initiative, Epic’s Seth Howard stated, their shared aim is to assist patients receive life-changing therapies earlier by minimising friction across the clinical trial lifecycle.
