For more information, visit: www.edgeclinical.com
80%
of the NHS uses EDGE in the UK
Over 94,000
research projects on the system
20,000
active users, accessing real-time data, faster
Over 2.9 million
patients in the system
Over 1.1 million documents stored
15,000 sites listed
Since its launch in 2000, and its adoption by the National Cancer Research Network, EDGE has grown from strength to strength and is now used nationally by over 80% of the NHS, in Canada, and plans to widen its membership in other countries in the future. The concept The EDGE programme was developed in the Faculty of Medicine’s Clinical Informatics Research Unit (CIRU) which operates as an applied research and enterprise unit working nationally and internationally. The idea first came about when CIRU Director, Professor James Batchelor, was working for the National Cancer Research network. James explains: “Clinical researchers spend a lot of time designing studies with the aim of transforming patient care, and this requires them to collaborate with their NHS hospital partners to undertake their studies and recruit patients. From the hospital’s perspective however, 100s of these studies could be running simultaneously. “Getting research studies up and running has historically been a predominantly manual process, and crucial information, such as patient and trial numbers, just wasn’t readily available. I decided to develop a new approach, which changed the clinical research process, and made the data more accessible.”
Designed to allow multiple organisations to collaborate and share information within the software, the EDGE programme helps reduce duplication of effort, creating more time for researchers to engage with their patients and undertake research, and less time on administration. James continues: “We are now faced with the challenges of integrating research more deeply into normal clinical practice, for which there are new requirements for more research into research. This is translational informatics researching the data within the systems and immediately implementing new approaches back into health research.” Growth In 2011 EDGE launched at the clinical trials department of Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC), Canada, which serves more than 1.7 million people in the central west Ontario region. Success within JCC led to interest from the Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials Network 3CTN and other cancer research institutes including the Alberta Clinical Research Consortium
(ACRC) and the University of Saskatchewan’s Clinical Trial Support Unit. By reducing the burden on clinical research front-line workers, improving the quality of research management and facilitating a collaborative research environment, EDGE has since rolled-out across the whole country. Plans are in-hand to launch the programme in Europe and Asia and Pacific Regions making this a truly global initiative. Novel solutions Alongside EDGE, the CIRU addresses other research informatics needs within the Faculty, NHS and wider commercial sectors. The Unit plans to enhance the performance of national and international clinical research by delivering data in real-time across the globe. Its vision is to become the most trusted intelligent research management system amongst clinical research professionals in the UK and internationally. For further information www.edgeclinical.com 11