BMC Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) for Research

What data are available?

Most data that are recorded in Epic are captured in the data warehouse. Available clinical data from Epic and OCHIN include patient demographics, data collected during health care encounters (in-patient admissions, offices visits, emergency department visits, surgical procedures, telemedicine, etc.), diagnoses, procedures, documentation flowsheets, lab values, medications, and clinical notes.

In addition to data from Epic and OCHIN, the data warehouse includes data from various data systems that are no longer in active clinical use (legacy systems). These legacy systems include PICIS (operating room data), IBEX (emergency department data), SDK (patient registration data), SCM (inpatient EHR data), Logician (outpatient EHR data), and EWS/IDX (patient scheduling data). Legacy systems are not actively maintained; data from them can be cumbersome to extract and are not monitored for quality.

In some instances, certain data elements that are visible to frontline Epic users may be generated at the point of care and may not be captured within the data warehouse. CDW-R analysts will work with your team to find the data necessary for analysis.

Read more about Data Available from the CDW for Research.

What services does the CDW-R provide?

If you need data for a study:
With appropriate approvals, CDW-R analysts provide extracts of data housed in the data warehouse for retrospective or prospective research studies. This includes cohort identification and recruitment lists, de-identified data sets, limited data sets, and patient-level identifiable data sets. The CDW-R can also merge data from multiple systems, such as crosswalking BMC EPIC clinical data with CHC OCHIN data for patients with health care encounters at BMC and CHCs.

If you are preparing for a study:
The CDW-R offers consultations with study teams to identify robust data to answer your research question, estimate the cost of a data request, develop your study IRB protocol, determine if manual chart review would be required for your study, and formulate an effective CDW-R data request. 

The CDW-R team also provides investigators with cohort size simple counts (i.e. aggregated data, not supplied at the patient level) to prepare for a research study or IRB protocol submission.

Read more about CDW-R Services.

How long does it take to get my data?

Wait times for data delivery depend on a variety of factors, including the current request queue and scope of the project. Wait times fluctuate throughout the year. It is the responsibility of the research team to allow ample time for IRB approval, acquisition of funding, and completion of the CDW-R data request formulation and finalization process. Research teams should plan for several weeks between submission of a fully completed CDW-R data request (including confirmation of IRB protocol approval/determination, confirmation of any special approvals, a fully completed CDW-R data request form, and identification of an account number to pay for services) and receipt of the data. Current expected wait times by request type are provided on our website homepage.

How much do services cost?

Currently, the CDW-R charges:

• $100 per hour if funded by a BMC/BU account with government, not-for-profit, or internal/discretionary funds, and
• $175 per hour if funded by industry/for-profit funder, or if the account sits external to BU/BMC.

Read more about Fees and Billing.

How are cost estimates determined? What if my project changes?

The CDW-R team is available to make cost estimates for their work. Request a quote by submitting a CDW-R quote request form. Estimates vary by request type, complexity, size, scope, and which data streams need to be accessed. Estimates are subject to change if the project deviates in scope after the initial estimate, or if there are unforeseen complications in obtaining relevant data fields. The CDW-R team will communicate to the investigator when there is a significant change in the cost estimate (±20% deviation) to avoid unexpected charges.

What kinds of payments/funding does the CDW-R accept?

Investigators can include the cost of CDW-R services in their grant proposal budgets or can pay for services using internal funds, such as Department or Division funding or discretionary funds.

Read more about Fees and Billing.

What if I don't have funding for CDW-R services?

Investigators without grant funding, who have limited resources, or who are underfunded are encouraged to check with their Department or Division to secure funding.

Additional internal funding mechanisms include:

• the BU CTSI has a voucher program to help support investigators. Vouchers provide a maximum of $5,000.
• the BMC Health Equity Accelerator offers seed funding of up to $3000 to 2 recipients on a quarterly basis. E-mail BMCHS.Equity@bmc.org for more information.
• the BMC Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) Department awards annual grants to proposals with one or more focus areas. Visit the Quality and Patient Safety Hub website for information.

The CDW-R team is available to provide investigators with simple count information (i.e. aggregated data, not supplied at the individual patient level) to secure grant funding. The CDW-R provides simple count services with the expectation that funding for further CDW-R data extraction services are included in proposal budgets. Simple aggregate count data (e.g. the number of hospitalized patients with pneumonia in 2018) do not require IRB approval.

Request aggregate, simple counts by submitting a CDW-R Simple Counts request.

What if I need data for non-research purposes?

The CDW-R is intended for research purposes only. For all other data request purposes, please submit a ServiceNow ticket at https://bmc.service-now.com

For information on Quality Improvement (QI)/Quality Assurance (QA) projects and IRB review, visit the BUMC IRB's website or contact the BMC QI Hub

What if I still have questions?

Contact us! The team is ready to answer your questions. Email cdw@bmc.org.