February 2, 2006
Clinical research compliance is topic of talk
Clinical research, or research with human subjects, and the systems that support it at the UW, the School of Medicine and affiliated medical centers will be the topic for a presentation from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 7, in room T-625 of the Health Sciences Center.
“How to Stay Out of Trouble — Compliance at UW Medicine: What It Is and What It Should Be” is the topic and the speakers will be Dr. John Slattery, vice dean for research and graduate education in the School of Medicine, and Sue Clausen, associate vice president for medical affairs compliance and director of compliance in the School of Medicine.
Slattery noted in an interview that substantial changes are on the horizon for several systems involved with clinical research, ranging from changes in federal funding to adjustments to local billing and information systems. At the same time, the University as a whole is moving to strengthen and revamp the review process for projects with human subjects.
“We are taking a very wide look at how the whole system works,” he said, “and we will be making investments at several levels to improve it. In the process, we hope to make compliance with federal and UW rules more streamlined for the researchers.”
Nationally, the National Institutes of Health will move the support it has provided for General Clinical Research Centers to a new system called Clinical and Translational Science Awards. Some planning funds are now available.
The Clinical Research Budgeting and Billing unit of UW Medicine, now based in the Office of Research and Graduate Education, will benefit from improvements in the information structures at the medical centers, Slattery noted. Some specific changes will make it easier to separate charges for normal patient care and for work required by a clinical research project, for example.
“We need the participation of many minds as we work on these issues,” he said. If researchers are not able to attend the Feb. 7 presentation, they can contact Slattery by e-mail at jts@u.washington.edu.
The presentation is part of the ThINK (The Investigator Needs to Know) series on clinical research. Registration is not required and all faculty, staff and students may attend.
