The Real-Time IRB: A Collaborative Innovation to Decrease IRB Review Time.

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Clinical Research Administration

Background:

• Lengthy Institutional Review Board (IRB) review times pose a significant barrier to the timely initiation and completion of research studies.
• Inefficiencies in traditional IRB processes can delay the translation of research findings into clinical practice and patient care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate a novel
• Real-Time IRB
• process designed to significantly decrease IRB review and approval timelines.

Main Methods:

• Investigators and study staff actively participate in IRB meetings.
• Protocol amendments and clarifications are made in real-time during the IRB meeting.
• Final IRB approval is issued during the same meeting session.

Main Results:

• The
• Real-Time IRB
• process achieved an average reduction of 40% in the total time from submission to final IRB approval.
• This innovative approach streamlines the protocol review and approval cycle.

Conclusions:

• The
• Real-Time IRB
• process demonstrates a promising strategy for accelerating research by reducing administrative bottlenecks.
• While resource-intensive, this method holds potential for enhancing the pace of research translation to patient care.