UCSF, QLHC and FDA Announce Successful Deployment of Innovative Data Capture System for Clinical Care and Research

UC San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with the Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has developed the OneSource system to seamlessly integrate clinical care and research data. OneSource is an electronic data capture (EDC) system which was developed with the goal of radically streamlining the collection and distribution of patient health data for clinical trials. It is based on best practices and open-source data Electronic Health Record (EHR) integration standards to launch seamlessly within widely used EHR platforms.

The OneSource Framework Allows Streamlined Data Integration for Clinical Research Trials and Patient Care

5-Apr-2022 8:00 AM EDT, by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)

Newswise — UC San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with the Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative (QLHC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has developed the OneSource system to seamlessly integrate clinical care and research data.

OneSource is an electronic data capture (EDC) system which was developed with the goal of radically streamlining the collection and distribution of patient health data for clinical trials. It is based on best practices and open-source data Electronic Health Record (EHR) integration standards to launch seamlessly within widely used EHR platforms. 

Currently, it is extremely difficult to share data due to the lack of data reconciliation, the complexity of systems integration, and abundant interoperability gaps. OneSource is designed to make it simple to share data, regardless of the system used.

“Getting the OneSource system implemented is an important step forward,” said Heidi Collins, vice president of Clinical Systems at UCSF, who was part of the EHR integration team and instrumental in getting the beta version implemented at UCSF. She continued, “Tools that can seamlessly work across any electronic medical record system will make it possible for data to effortlessly flow to trials and registries and serve quality improvement efforts across the medical center.”

The system overcomes current obstacles by allowing critical clinical data to be entered at the point of care, only once, by the clinician and/or the patient. It also automates transfer of labs, demographic and concurrent medications to clinical trial and registry data systems. That single entry then serves as the authoritative source and can be used many times, including for trials, quality improvement, and research. This enables the identification of critical information, tracking of care progress, and organizing and presenting data using intuitive visual tools.

The OneSource framework was initially conceived at UCSF with support from the FDA. The software was further developed for production implementation by QLHC and has been implemented at eight sites of the QLHC-sponsored I-SPY COVID TRIAL. At those sites OneSource enabled a 30%–50% improved turnaround time for data completion associated with the trial end point. By mid-2022, the goal is to have OneSource operational across 35 sites participating in I-SPY 2.2 (for breast cancer) and I-SPY COVID TRIALs across the country. 

“We have long needed to focus on the capture of mission critical data at the point of care,” said Laura Esserman, MD, founder and co-principal investigator of the I-SPY Trials and director of the UCSF Breast Care Center. “OneSource enables us to learn from every patient we see, fueling the cycle of knowledge and innovation. We need these same tools to match patients to resources (including clinical trials) that will improve their care experience and their outcomes. OneSource is a building block for 21st century personalized trials that provide clinicians with data and confidence to adopt new standards of care.”  

The OneSource initiative leverages the OpenClinica Electronic Data Capture (EDC) system. The Electronic Health Record (EHR) tools to enable this effort were developed at UCSF. QLHC, a 501C (3) charitable organization established as a collaboration between medical researchers at UCSF and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, partnered with the FDA, the Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation and UCSF Information Technology leadership on this initiative.

“OneSource is straightforward to implement, requiring less than ten hours of configuration time using well established, secure EHR integration standards,” said Adam Asare, PhD, QLHC chief data officer and director of IT for the UCSF Breast Center. “Upon implementation, research teams are thrilled with the amount of time saved in what was previously double entry of the same data in separate systems.”

Mitra Rocca, associate director of medical informatics at the FDA, added, “Using the right tools will allow clinicians to be the source for electronic data capture of what is clinically useful and critical for regulatory evidence generation, eliminating the need for the redundant and error prone processes of duplicating data for electronic data capture systems for clinical trials. This collaboration is important to the FDA to streamline trials and improve data quality.” 

“Innovation to save lives is at the core of UCSF’s mission,” said Mark Laret, former CEO of UCSF Health. “Esserman and Asare’s vision for simplifying data collection to integrate care with research will enable all trials to move forward and help UCSF accelerate learning and improve patient care on a continuous basis.”

In addition to OneSource’s interoperability and integration of clinical care and research, OneSource will be expanded for use in routine clinical practice in the near future, allowing improved access to patient data among a variety of clinical stakeholders.

About the I-SPY COVID Trial: 

The I-SPY COVID Trial (Investigation of Serial Studies to Predict Your COVID Therapeutic Response with Biomarker Integration and Adaptive Learning) is an adaptive platform trial designed to increase trial efficiency by minimizing the number of participants and time required to evaluate experimental and/or repurposed drugs. The focus of the trial is to improve outcomes for severely ill COVID-19 patients.  The I-SPY COVID Trial is sponsored and managed by Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative. For more information, visit www.quantumleaphealth.org or www.ispytrials.org.

The I-SPY COVID Trial is a collaboration between members of Quantum Leap, pharmaceutical partners and the United States government. 

About the I-SPY 2 TRIAL: 

The I-SPY 2 TRIAL (Investigation of Serial studies to Predict Your Therapeutic Response with Imaging And moLecular Analysis) was designed to rapidly screen promising experimental treatments and identify those most effective in specific patient subgroups based on molecular characteristics (biomarker signatures). The trial is a unique collaborative effort by a consortium that includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), industry, patient advocates, philanthropic sponsors, and clinicians from more than 30 major U.S. cancer research centers. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative is the trial sponsor and manages all study operations. For more information, visit www.ispytrials.org.

‍About QLHC: 

Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative is a 501C (3) charitable organization established in 2005 as a collaboration between medical researchers at University of California, San Francisco and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Our mission is to integrate high-impact research with clinical processes and systems technology, resulting in improved data management and information systems, greater access to clinical trial matching and sponsorship, and greater benefit to providers, patients and researchers. Our goal is to improve and save lives. Quantum Leap provides operational, financial, and regulatory oversight to the I-SPY Trials. For more information, visit www.QuantumLeapHealth.org

About UCSF: 

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF’s primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. UCSF School of Medicine also has a regional campus in Fresno. Learn more at ucsf.edu or see our Fact Sheet.

Related Links

http://www.quantumleaphealth.org

For more information, email karyn.digiorgio@quantumleaphealth.org

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Tracey Heather

Advocate Liaison

As Patient Engagement Lead at Quantum Leap, I manage follow-up data projects for the I-SPY 2 Trial, develop strategies to strengthen patient engagement, and oversee the I-SPY Advocate group. After six successful years raising funds to support Quantum’s mission, I embraced this new role last summer, drawn by the opportunity to make a direct impact on the patients we serve. Each day brings new challenges and insights, and I especially enjoy supporting and collaborating with our inspiring I-SPY Advocates.

Outside of work, I am pursuing a Master of Public Administration with a focus on nonprofit management at SF State. I’m passionate about trail running, skiing, live music, camping, traveling, and collegiate gymnastics—my daughter competes at Oregon State. For the past 5 years, I have volunteered with SF CASA as a mentor to an incredible 18-year-old foster youth whose resilience continually reminds me of life’s true priorities.

Carolyn Clark Beedle

Carolyn Clark Beedle, a 2023 breast cancer survivor, joined the advocate program after successful completion of treatment with the UCSF Breast Oncology Program. Her experience working with a patient advocate during her TNBC treatment led to an understanding that empowering women to advocate for their own health and healthcare will contribute to improved health outcomes and broader access to care. Carolyn began advocating for cancer patients and their families during her treatment, now is a member of the Breast Science Advocacy Core (BSAC) with the UCSF Breast Oncology Program, and currently shares information and research with CFNP associates at La Clinica in the Bay Area to inform and empower their patient population.

Carolyn is continuing her on the ground training as an advocate reviewer with both Quantum Health and BSAC and is enrolled in the Patient Advocacy Training in Health Science course with Stanford Medicine. Her 30+ career in corporate marketing/communications, program development and non-profit leadership augmented by her breast cancer treatment experience serves Carolyn well in representing and communicating the patient voice and perspective.

She received her BA (History/English Lit) and MA (Public History/Research and Record Management) from the University of San Diego, is a proud fifth generation San Franciscan, and active board member with numerous non-profits that support social work and the arts.

Silver Alkhafaji

Silver Alkhafaji is a PhD candidate in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacogenomics (PSPG) program at UCSF. She received her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Biology from UC Berkeley. Prior to UCSF, she worked in the Clinical Pharmacology Department at Genentech. Silver’s current research focuses on non-invasive liquid biopsies to predict response and side effects of immunotherapies and endocrine therapies in early-stage breast cancer participants in I-SPY 2.

Silver is interested in clinical outcomes research to advance precision medicine and improve cancer patients’ quality of life. She is passionate about health equity, inclusive research, patient advocacy, and women’s health.
Silver volunteers at the Patient and Family Cancer Support Center at UCSF where she assists in patient navigation and connecting patients and their families with resources that improve their healthcare experience while receiving cancer treatments and/or during survivorship. 

Through her DEI work in her PhD program, Silver raises awareness around issues related to social justice and community building through organizing community-centered events. Additionally, she is a member of the Life Sciences Career Advisory Council at Thrive Scholars, where she enjoys supporting college students of color from economically disadvantaged communities in providing the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges and in high-trajectory careers. 

Silver is a member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Alameda Branch where she focuses her efforts on increasing membership of community college women coming from exceptional backgrounds: student parents, low-income, and first-generation college students.

In her free time, she writes poetry and prose on emotional healing, radical acceptance, and patience. Writing has helped her process difficult situations and connect with people on a deeper level.

Jane Mortimer

Jane is a breast cancer survivor and advocate dedicated to positively impacting the lives of women affected by the disease. Diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer in 2012, she participated in the I-SPY 2 trial at UCSF and has been cancer free for more than ten years.

Her advocacy journey began in 2003 at UCSF as a volunteer with the Patient and Family Cancer Support Center and Decision Support Services and she previously managed the Peer Support program at UCSF. Drawing on her experience in marketing and media strategy, she uses her skills to make a meaningful impact by supporting advocacy and research that improves outcomes for women living with breast cancer.

Jan Tomlinson

In March of 2023 , Jan was diagnosed with a large aggressive triple negative breast cancer and informed that her cancer was the” bad girl” of cancer and offered standard chemotherapy for 24 weeks. Devasted by the diagnosis Jan felt like she had a dire prognosis. After seeking several opinions, she opted to join a Clinical Trial program for her treatment. The trial consisted of significantly less chemotherapy, and monitored closely over a 12-week period, The data predicted a complete pathological response , and she then went immediately to surgery. Pathology reports supported that she had a successful outcome reaching PCR meaning the tumor was gone, and no residual cancer was found in the surrounding tissue or lymph nodes. Jan was thrilled when her surgeon advised her of the results. The experience made Jan want to give back and share information that she received when she was at a critical juncture in her diagnosis. She is so passionate about making sure that everyone knows that the standard of care is one treatment option.

As she says, “ clinical trials have to be on the table” Because she achieved PCR, she expects a great outcome. She wants to share her story and encourage other women to strongly consider and participate in clinical trials. Jan is a UCSF Patient Advocate, involved in several programs they lead. Jan also is a BLACC Cab Member. Jan recently was in Washington DC to participate on a panel on Clinical Trials for ISPY at the National Press Club. UCSF will be hosting the RISE Up For Breast Cancer event where Jan will share her experience with clinical trials.

Deborah Collyar

Deb is a connector who founded Patient Advocates in Research (PAIR) “where research meets reality,” bringing ideas and people together for medical advances that offer real results for diverse patients and families.

Her vast experience between the worlds of tech, communication, strategy, management, policy, and equity bridges gaps between patients, scientists, medical providers, payers, governments, and non-profits.

Deb infuses patient engagement into projects, gathers relevant patient input, and encompasses many diseases, programs and policies at grassroots, national and international levels through companies, academia, and governments.

Key patient insights are delivered throughout discovery, development, clinical trials, results reporting, data-sharing, standards, genomics, and into practice.

Her experience spans translational and clinical research, epidemiology, health outcomes, and health delivery research with academia, federal agencies, companies, and patient communities.