How do I access UVA health records for research?
We welcome researchers to submit their request for health record data via our new Research Data Request intake page.
Researchers may want to view or analyze health record data at various stages of a clinical research process. The Research & Clinical Trial Analytics (RCTA) team is established as a part of the research infrastructure development with the support of Translational Health Research Institute of Virginia (THRIV) to advance clinical and translational science at UVA. The Research & Clinical Trial Analytics team is a dedicated team of informatics experts, programmers, and research support staff who provide a variety of services including the support of health record research.
An overview of available and coming patient data research tools is available HERE. RCTA can assist you with health data research needs using the resources described there (and summarized below). You can contact us if you need a consult to determine the best approach for a particular research question. Remember that if you are working with identifiable health data for research purposes, you should review the IRB-HSRs guidelines regarding when you need prior approval from the IRB prior to conducting your query or research.
IS THERE A COST TO RECEIVE EMR DATA FOR MY RESEARCH? To recover the cost of fulfilling Research Data Requests, the Research & Clinical Trial Analytics team charges a fee for data extracts that take the team more than 1 hr to complete. When data is requested, the team will estimate the cost and provide this to you for approval. Once the estimate is approved by you and the request is prioritized, the RCTA will work the request. Payment will be due upon completion of the request and accomplished via Labor Distribution. Free requests include MRN re-identification from TriNetX queries (with only MRNs as output) or any request estimated to take less than 1 hour for the RCTA to complete. Using TriNetX or Slicer Dicer is currently free.
FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS: When designing a clinical research study you may need to conduct a cohort analysis on a known set of eligibility criteria or evaluate and refine criteria for a study that is under development. TriNetX Live is a tool that is now available for use and is the recommended starting point for cohort analysis. Email researchdata@uvahealth.org to request access to TriNetX Live or if you need help compiling data for your cohort analysis. TriNetX Live currently reflects data from the beginning of Health System's use of EPIC (September 2010) and is updated on a weekly basis.
DETAILED HEALTH DATA: Your research may involve access to de-identified or identified detailed health records. There are a variety of tools available to query complex health data, including EPIC's self-service tool, Slicer Dicer (available for anyone with UVA EPIC access). You may also use TriNetX Live to identify a patient cohort and then follow the re-identification instructions on the TriNetX resource page to share your query with Research & Clinical Trial Analytics. RCTA can pull the data records associated with this cohort and provide you with de-identified datasets (or identifiable datasets provided you have the appropriate approval).
Some projects will require RCTA to directly query EPIC EHR databases, the UVA OMOP research data warehouse, or other Health System databases for you.
Use the contact information provided to the right if you need help determining which tool to use for your project. Also, please review the most current guidance regarding when you can view and/or record identifiable data for research purposes prior to using these tools or requesting our services.
The Research & Clinical Trial Analytics team can help you get the data you need while new tools are being implemented.
If you have questions about this process, please reach out via email to researchdata@uvahealth.org and a teammate will respond shortly.
DO I NEED IRB APPROVAL? This portal page provides guidance as to whether you will need IRB permission to access the data you require.