The Smart Data Extractor, a Clinician Friendly Solution to Accelerate and Improve the Data Collection During Clinical Trials

TL;DR

The Smart Data Extractor is a semi-automated tool designed to accelerate and improve data collection in clinical trials by reducing time and errors compared to manual methods.

Contribution

It introduces a clinician-friendly system that automates data extraction and form pre-population, demonstrating significant efficiency and accuracy improvements.

Findings

Reduced data collection time from 6'81'' to 3'22'' per form.

Fewer mistakes with the Smart Data Extractor (46) than manual collection (163).

Easy-to-use and adaptable solution improves data quality in clinical research.

Abstract

In medical research, the traditional way to collect data, i.e. browsing patient files, has been proven to induce bias, errors, human labor and costs. We propose a semi-automated system able to extract every type of data, including notes. The Smart Data Extractor pre-populates clinic research forms by following rules. We performed a cross-testing experiment to compare semi-automated to manual data collection. 20 target items had to be collected for 79 patients. The average time to complete one form was 6'81'' for manual data collection and 3'22'' with the Smart Data Extractor. There were also more mistakes during manual data collection (163 for the whole cohort) than with the Smart Data Extractor (46 for the whole cohort). We present an easy to use, understandable and agile solution to fill out clinical research forms. It reduces human effort and provides higher quality data, avoiding data re-entry and fatigue induced errors.