Building an I2B2-Based Population Repository for Clinical Research

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Clinical Research Networks

Background:

• Hospitals generate vast amounts of data from disparate sources.
• Integrating this data into a unified format is crucial for research.
• The 12 de Octubre University Hospital faced challenges in data harmonization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the process of connecting a hospital to the TriNetX research network.
• To detail the phases of data integration and semantic normalization.
• To highlight the research opportunities enabled by the InSite platform.

Main Methods:

• Phased integration of terminology core datasets and specialized sources.
• Implementation of automatic daily data refreshment.
• Semantic normalization of clinical terminologies using the InSite platform.

Main Results:

• Successful connection of 12 de Octubre University Hospital to the TriNetX network.
• Creation of a single, harmonized, and automatically updated data repository.
• Enhanced research capabilities through the InSite platform.

Conclusions:

• The integration process demonstrates a viable model for hospital data harmonization.
• Automated data refreshment ensures up-to-date information for research.
• The InSite platform significantly expands research opportunities for healthcare institutions.