Informatics support requires oversight to ensure that institutional policies and practices don’t become barriers to research. The Clinical Research Leadership Committee, led by Brian Smith, MD, professor and chair of laboratory medicine, is responsible for this guidance. Formed by the School of Medicine, Yale Medical Group (YMG), and Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS), the committee is responsible for coordinating Yale’s health care delivery system with the translational research enterprise.
The committee is charged with shaping policy and resolving research issues identified in the context of health care delivery. The group was instrumental in the approval of Yale’s opt-out policy, which required changes in YMG and YNHHS privacy policies in order to allow for the use of blood, tissue, and health record data for research unless the patient opts out.
“The idea is to have a governance structure in place so that our informatics policies facilitate research, instead of standing in the way,” said Smith.
The idea is to have a governance structure in place so that our informatics policies facilitate research, instead of standing in the way.
Brian Smith, MD, professor and chair of laboratory medicine
The committee’s membership includes senior faculty and leaders from the Human Research Protection Program, YNHHS, YMG, YCCI, and the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. Amy Justice, MD, MSc, PhD, professor of medicine (general medicine) and public health (health policy) and section chief of general medicine in the VA Connecticut Healthcare System, provides additional oversight, serving as lead advisor and representing faculty users of informatics resources. She has extensive experience in analyzing large and complex observational datasets, including comparing results across databases and conducting observational studies. She works to ensure that informatics services are research- and user-friendly. “I was delighted to be asked to serve in this role to help YCCI ensure that its informatics resources and investments meet the needs of faculty carrying out research,” she said.
The Research Prioritization Subcommittee comprises senior faculty and staff members from the health system and the university. The committee works on behalf of the School of Medicine and the entire health system to guide the Joint Data Analytics Team (JDAT) in prioritizing requests and allocating resources. This guidance ensures that the needs of investigators as well as institutional goals are met.