Data Services
Clinical Data Research Consultations is a service that extracts data sets from UCSF Medical Center, Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland (BCH Oakland), and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFGH) hospital data sources for research purposes. The available ZSFGH data sets include longitudinal data from clinical databases on Community Health Network (CHN) patients from ZSFGH and other DPH facilities. The available UCSF Medical Center data sets include longitudinal patient data sets from the APeX and UCare clinical systems. Typical uses of Clinical Data Research Consultations data include:
- Summary statistics
- Generation of condition-specific patient populations for study recruitment / chart review
- Outcomes research using historical data in hospital databases
Data Extraction
The data extraction service offering includes the extraction of de-identified, aggregate, and identified patient data sets from UCSF Medical Center, BCH Oakland, and ZSFGH data sources. A current and relevant IRB protocol is required for all identified or limited data extractions. The extracted data sets are delivered to you through your RAE (formerly MyResearch) account. This service offering includes both one-time and recurring data pulls.
Honest Broker
The honest broker service offering includes the de-identification of extracted patient data sets. All identifying information is removed from a data set and retained by the ARS team for future use by your research team under the auspices of your current and relevant IRB protocol. A proxy medical record number is generated and attached to each patient record in your data set. ARS then maintains a mapping between the proxy medical record number and the real medical record number for all patient records in your data set. This enables ARS to re-identify the patient records for your research team when the need to do so may arise in the future stages of your study. The deliverable that you will receive in your RAE (formerly MyResearch) account as a result of the initial honest broker service request is the de-identified patient data set that includes the proxy medical record numbers.
Request a Consultation
Please complete the CTSI Consulting Services Request form.
Pricing
Research data extraction and REDCap development consulting services are provided to the UCSF Research Community at the hourly rate of $120/hour, however, a price change will take into effect on August 1, 2022 which will increase to $140/hour. During our consultation, we will be able to give you a time estimate for work you are requesting.
Scholarship Opportunity
Scholarships may be available to support the cost of data query development work. If approved, the scholarship subsidizes up to 8 hours of work per PI, per fiscal year. You will be offered an opportunity to apply for scholarship funds once your project has been triaged to our programming team. Scholarship funding is not guaranteed.
Processing Time
After our consultation takes place and we have all required documentation, we will submit your request to ServiceNow for fulfillment. Once submitted, a programmer will take around 30 to 45 days to start your request.
Required Material
In order to speed up your data delivery, please have the following items ready when requesting a consultation.
IRB Number
If your request contains PHI, we will need an IRB number to process the request to make sure everything is UCSF compliant. Ensure to double check your IRB has all the requested information and locations listed.
ZSFGH Approval Letter
If you are requesting data from ZSFGH, we will also need an approval letter from the ZSFG Research Protocol Application or SFDPH Research Proposal Approval.
Funding Number
All services require a funding number to submit to ServiceNow for fulfillment. Funding numbers should follow this format:
- Fund (4-digits)
- Dept Id (6-digits)
- Project (7-digits)
- Function (2-digits)
MyResearch Account Name
A RAE (formerly MyResearch) account is required to deliver data that contains PHI. MyResearch is UCSF's secure data hosting server. MyResearch provides research teams with a professionally managed, secure, web-based, collaborative environment in which to manage files containing sensitive data. You may request a MyResearch Account through ServiceNow.
Policy Information
Please read the University of California Electronic Communications Policy (ECP).
Help
For additional Clinical Data Research Consultations support questions and information, contact the Academic Research Systems team at [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
You can read more about our services on our CDRC FAQ page or visit our Requesting EHR Data Wiki Page.