410 Successful Implementation of a Cross-Institutional Clinical Research Coordinator Pool to Support Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) Investigators

Abstract

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: In 2020 the Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Center site at Emory University developed a highly trained, credentialed research coordinator pool with a goal to expand the pool to include clinical research coordinators from our partner institutions with the ability to work across institutional barriers in support of Georgia CTSA investigators. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Fall 2022, an Emory Investigator requested Georgia CTSA Biorepository samples with supporting clinical data for a NIH funded study. This provided a pilot opportunity to utilize clinical research nursing support offered by the UGA Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU). De-identified samples were collected from our Biorepository while Emory’s coordinators and lab collaborated with UGA’s nursing support for data collection. Our obstacle for cross-institutional support was access to Emory Healthcare (EHC) medical records that would be needed by the UGA nurses, but partnerships created with the Georgia CTSA allowed us to overcome this, granting access to the electronic medical records (EMR) needed to complete the study. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: As expected, the process of credentialing and gaining access to the EHC EMR for the UGA team was the most time-consuming in the development of the pool. Discussions began in June 2021 to determine needs to allow the UGA research nurses to support the Emory coordinator pool. Requirements included acquiring an EHC network ID, completion of required Emory research training, letters of support from the Georgia CTSA outlining the collaboration between institutions, and a credentialing application. All steps were completed in May 2022 and the team began to identify studies that could benefit from this collaboration. Given that all credentialing and access needs were in place, the team was able to initiate the study and complete all study requirements, from sample identification to data collection and clean up, in five weeks. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Workforce shortages of experienced clinical research coordinators make it imperative to overcome barriers presented by institutional rules in order to efficiently utilize available resources to conduct high quality research. The CTSAs provide the perfect opportunity for partner institutions to develop processes to allow support across sites.