US data network focuses on medical targets for the first time

A http://www.aliyun.com/zixun/aggregation/13569.html "> Large data study will determine how different doses of aspirin can be effective for heart disease.

The largest large data test to date in the medical and health field has finally set the first research goal. The head of the Columbia, Dist. Of Patient Center Results Institute (PCORI) in Washington, D.C., recently voted to focus the Institute's first clinical trial on aspirin to prevent heart disease. The 10 million-dollar pilot study will be implemented by PCORnet, a network created by Pcori to collect 30 million people's healthcare data in the United States, such as insurance claims, blood tests and medical histories.

PCORnet is the latest and largest of a series of initiatives to try to improve health care by using patient data. Similar projects are also available in private companies (such as California State Oakland's Kaiser Medical Group) and medical networks (such as the partner healthcare Network in Boston, Massachusetts). Pcori was set up by the U.S. government in 2010 to fund a study that compares clinical therapeutic effects, and has donated $549 million to $3 billion to date. As Pcori's own project, PCORnet consists of 29 smaller networks covering U.S. hospitals and patient organizations. The aspirin test is part of a pilot phase to clarify issues such as how best to recruit research volunteers, standardize their records, and establish good relationships with them.

In the second phase, which is scheduled to start in September 2015, peripheral scientists will be able to use pcornet data for their research. "I measure success in terms of the number of issues we want to know," says Christopher Forrest, a pediatric specialist at Pennsylvania State Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, who leads a network of pcornet. ”

The aspirin trial will begin in early 2015. Participants ' daily doses of aspirin would fall within the usual range of treatment for heart disease, and they would be monitored to determine if a dose was better than other doses. "While the study is a proof of concept-the dosage of aspirin is also a very important issue," Pcori Joe Selby said, "but we are proving that you will ask and answer questions that are important to the patient, and this problem has not been answered for many years." ”

Pcori does not intend to test new potential therapies or discover pathogenic mechanisms-a function of the National Institutes of Health. "I see them as a complement to randomized clinical trials, not as a substitute," said William Hersh, a biomedical information expert at the University of Health and Science, Portland Oregon, who was not involved in Pcori. "One of the biggest challenges, he argues, is to standardize data from different networks to ensure accurate comparisons." Many types of data--scans from medical imaging, vital sign records, and ultimately genetic information--are confusing, and the recording system differs from one medical institution to another.

Patient privacy activist Sam Smith believes that transparency in the use of patient records is key to the success of the project. "Usually if you can tell people where their data is going, they'll be happier than you are," he said. ”

Pcori said patient representatives would participate in the review of their funding and work with pilot researchers. In order to ensure privacy, PCORnet will not collect personal information. The patient's record will be kept by their healthcare provider. When peripheral researchers use pcornet for research purposes, the data is analyzed within the network and then sent to researchers or anonymously.

The aspirin trial will use an informed consent standard procedure whereby participants will be told what their data will be used to address specific research issues.