A web-based system for managing and co-ordinating multiple multisite studies

Efficient and secure collection and management of information is essential in any modern biomedical study. Data management and coordination of multisite studies is a complex process. It involves development of systems for data collection, data cleaning with quality assurance checks, and specimen tracking, as well as development of procedures for conducting the study, training clinical sites, and communicating with sites to answer study questions and resolve and track data inquiries and resolutions. We developed a secure web-based system that is designed to automate evaluation of eligibility criteria and data collection, track specimens, serve as a resource for study-specific information, facilitate communication across sites in multisite studies, track data queries and resolutions, and allow administrative management of studies. The system combines a common framework across studies that defines the internal structure for all the web pages, with a study-specific one that defines the content of each page via a relational database. This combination creates a flexible and efficient environment enabling several multisite studies to be simultaneously or consecutively implemented and managed in a timely manner. We describe the development process, the system and its evaluation, current status, lessons learned, and future development plans.