Self-Service Research Data Warehouses (RDW)
UCI researchers have access to several self-service research data warehouses. These include LDS OMOP RDW, a partially de-identified research copy of the UCI Health patient care data, and UCHDW, a UC-wide data warehouse that aggregates clinical data from all UC Health campuses. The use of these data warehouses is deemed by the IRB as non-human subjects research and thus does not require IRB approval, provided that the data are stored and analyzed in a secure environment.
LDS OMOP RDW
LDS stands for Limited Data Set. LDS differs from fully anonymized data in that while a majority of patient identifiers such as names and phone numbers are removed, LDS retains certain data elements that HIPAA defines as patient identifiers, such as dates (e.g., admission date, discharge date, date of death).
In other words, LDS is only partially de-identified per HIPAA. However, because the likelihood of re-identifying patients from LDS is deemed reasonably low, it can be used for research and public health purposes without additional administrative or research ethnics approval, provided that adequate data protection procedures are in place.
Please note that while partial address information, such as city, state, five digit or more zip code, can be retained in an LDS, LDS OMOP RDW does not contain this information per UC policies.
OMOP standards for Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership. It is a common data model (CDM) that defines the structure (see figure below) in which data should be stored and the standard terminologies in which data should be codified. It is essential to ensure health data from different institutions are stored in a consistent format so they can be shared across institutions.
How to request access
Any UCI employee or student can request access by sending an email to ori@uci.edu with the LDS OMOP Data Use Agreement signed and attached. For students, faculty supervisors' signature must be obtained.
Once access is granted, connect to PVCE, and then launch Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. If the Server Name field is not pre-populated, enter omop.uci.edu. Click Connect. The self-service databases will now show up to the left on the Databases list as LDS_OMOP_RDW and UC_CORDS.
How to use
You need a reasonable level of familiarity with the Structured Query Language (SQL) in order to construct proper database queries:
SQL TutorialYou also need to have a reasonable level of familiarity with the OMOP Common Data Model:
2021 UC Davis Spring Workshop on Common Data Models for Real-World Data
UC Health Data Warehouse (UCHDW)
UCHDW is a UC-wide data asset created to enhance operational improvements, promote quality patient care, and enable the next generation of clinical and translational research. It aggregates EHR data from the six UC academic health centers: UC Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and San Francisco. It also includes claims data from the UC self-funded health plans, as well as from external sources including Vizient and the California Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI), formerly the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD).
The LDS version of UCHDW is available for research reuse without requiring additional IRB approval. To request an account, send an email to ori@uci.edu.
All of Us
The All of Us Research Program is part of an effort to advance individualized health care by enrolling one million or more participants to contribute their health data over many years. The program aims to reflect the diversity of the U.S. and to include participants from groups that have been underrepresented in health research in the past. The program is developing custom tools and software to help researchers analyze participant data while keeping information secure.
UCI researchers can apply for free accounts to access the data through the All of Us Research Hub.
TriNetX
TriNetX is a commercial data sharing platform that allows cohort building and aggregate-level analyses with data contributed by a global network of 100+ participating institutions. UCI researchers can use TriNetX as a local cohort discovery tool to construct patient cohorts using UCI Health data. They can also use TriNetX to construct global cohorts and request patient-level data in a de-identified or LDS fashion from TriNetX's Research Network.
To request an account, send an email to ori@uci.edu. To access, click here.
National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C)
N3C is a collaboration among the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program hubs, distributed clinical data networks (PCORnet, OHDSI, ACT, TriNetX), and other partner organizations, with overall stewardship by NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). It aims to improve the efficiency and accessibility of analyses with COVID-19 clinical data, expand our ability to analyze and understand COVID, and demonstrate a novel approach for collaborative data sharing.
UCI researchers can apply for free accounts to access the data here.