Overview
The high volume of data collection required for cancer clinical trials places a significant burden on site staff, with manual data entry into electronic data capture (EDC) systems leading to inefficiencies, delays, and errors. This study evaluates the potential of EHR-to-EDC technology to streamline clinical trial data collection by automating the transfer of structured and unstructured data from electronic health records (EHRs) to EDC platforms.
Researchers from Sanofi and Flatiron Health assessed five oncology trials across diverse phases and disease types, measuring the proportion of trial data eligible for automated transfer. The findings revealed that 86% of collected data points were eligible for EHR-to-EDC transfer, with 43% of data retrievable via Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), 14% through intentional data capture (IDC), and 28% via technology-enabled chart abstraction. These results highlight the feasibility of leveraging EHR-to-EDC technology to reduce redundant data entry and improve operational efficiency in clinical trials.
Why this matters
This validation study demonstrates that a significant majority of oncology trial data, including both structured and unstructured data, can be seamlessly transferred from the EHR to the EDC, reducing the need for manual entry and minimizing errors. Increasing adoption of this technology has the potential to streamline study execution, improve data quality, and reduce administrative burden for research teams—ultimately accelerating the development of new cancer therapies.