"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles at it." ~ Margaret Fuller (1810-1850)
Hoosier Oncology is excited to introduce a new quarterly feature called INSIGHTS in which a selected research site is asked to share its research knowledge and experiences with the Hoosier Oncology research community.
The shared information can be anything from how the site implemented a new procedure or capability, what they've learned the hard way, to what barriers in research they've experienced and how they've overcome them, or simply, what they feel they do best and how they do it.
This month, we're highlighting Dr. Wael Harb's site, Horizon Oncology Research Inc., located in Lafayette, Ind. Horizon Oncology was chosen as the pilot site because we feel they have some pretty neat systems in place that make research much easier.
Angi Riley, research director and clinical office manager, offered us a glimpse into Horizon Oncology research services and technology through this Q&A:
Q: How has Horizon Oncology changed the way it does business since it opened its doors?
A: In 2003, we went to an electronic medical record system and electronic file system. Since then, we've gone entirely paperless. No binders; all of our data is on hard drives. In 2006, we launched the research application called Study Manager, which makes everything so much easier.
Q: How does Study Manager make your job easier?
A: Study Manager is a much more efficient way to do research. It tracks everything. We use it for everything from negotiating budgets and tracking payments to milestones that are tracked by the monitors. It also tracks all regulatory information, does version management of documents, etc.
Q: Did you or do you currently encounter any barriers or resistance from certain groups or people and if so, how did/do you handle it?
A: We did initiallywith some of the sponsors who like to see binders. So we stick with the same sponsors whom we have a relationship with because it makes the process easier. We do look into other partners, but Horizon Oncology won’t do binders. So if the sponsor refuses, then Horizon declines to work with the sponsor.
Q: Are there any lessons learned that you would like to share?
A: When we were negotiating with sponsors, the sponsors thought Horizon just had an Electronic Medical Record system (EMR), so we really had to work hard to be clear and transparent that we house ALL documents electronically.
Q: Was there a learning curve? And how expensive it is to implement a system like this?
A: There is a learning curve because it does so much. We found that it’s important to have just a few people in the system for consistency. Implementation for about five to six users was fairly economical, with the cost being under $10K.
If you have any questions about Study Manager or would like more information about getting Study Manager at your site, please let us know.
Thanks to Angi Riley, Dr. Harb, and Horizon Oncology Research for being our first INSIGHT case study.