Many informatics resources exist to support clinical and translational research. Use this table to determine the right one for your needs.
| I am a... | I am currently... | I need a data resource to... | These are the tools and data for me: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Investigator | Designing and developing patient cohorts and computable phenotypes | Characterize patient populations and clinical patterns | |
| Designing a study, analyzing feasibility, developing preliminary results for proposals | Iteratively search patient data to test feasibility of study parameters | ||
| Looking for/ forming collaborations for multicenter studies | Identify trial sites with eligible patients | ||
| Conducting a chart abstraction study or patient registry | Request re-identified patient info with IRB approval | ||
| Conducting translational/ mechanistic studies | Explore potential clinical cohorts in real time | ||
| Health Economist/Public Health/Outcomes Researcher | Conducting or planning large-scale data analyses | Integrate harmonized data from dozens of national and international health systems |
Many tools offer the same functionality with minor differences in query results and major differences in user interface. Results depend on the size and type of health system network that contributes data to the tool, in addition to the tool’s specific algorithms.