Can openEHR Archetypes Empower Multi-Centre Clinical Research?

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Research Informatics
• Electronic Health Records

Background:

• High-quality collaborative care relies on robust Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
• Multi-centre clinical research increasingly requires systematic use of routine data.
• Existing systems like extensible architecture for using routine data for additional purposes (eardap) offer terminological support but face complexity challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the feasibility of the openEHR approach for multi-centre clinical research.
• To compare the openEHR approach with eardap for enabling the use of routine data in research.
• To assess openEHR's suitability for supporting multi-centre research objectives.

Main Methods:

• Comparative feasibility study of openEHR and eardap.
• Evaluation of data standardization and re-use capabilities for clinical research.
• Assessment of flexibility and maintenance of terminological approaches.

Main Results:

• Both eardap and openEHR demonstrate suitability for enabling multi-centre clinical research with routine data.
• The openEHR archetype approach offers greater flexibility compared to terminology-focused methods.
• openEHR overcomes limitations associated with complex, difficult-to-maintain terminologies.

Conclusions:

• openEHR is a viable and flexible approach for multi-centre clinical research using routinely collected data.
• The openEHR approach ensures open, future-proof Electronic Health Records.
• Adoption of openEHR in multi-centre clinical trials is highly recommended for enhanced data standardization and research capabilities.