Consent to Contact for Research (CCR) Registry and Use
This service is supported by the Optimizing Patient ENgagement in Research Initiative (OPEN) at Columbia University, a collaborative of institutional administration offices, clinicians, research staff, community members, and health system partners.
Overview
The Consent to Contact for Research (CCR) Registry allows Columbia researchers to directly contact Columbia patients about their research studies. This recruitment method is distinct from other methods that require the patient's treating physician or medical director to make this contact on behalf of the researcher. The Registry is a list of adult patients (18 and older) in the CUIMC health system who have not “opted out” of contact about research directly from our researchers.
Recruitment utilizing the CCR Registry is currently limited to contacting patients through Epic’s Connect (MyChart) Research Recruitment Messages. This is a research-specific notification that alerts patients they have a research study invitation to review.
Make sure to review the Contact Frequency Policy before you start recruiting.
How to Utilize the CCR Registry
- Request a CCR Consultation — Please email us at OPEN@cumc.columbia.edu to attend a studio-style consultation with participant recruitment and clinical data personnel to determine if recruitment through the CCR Registry fits your study, and review required templates and guidance.
- Add CCR to your protocol — In Rascal (see Rascal submission instructions), select CCR as a recruitment method and attach the CCR-specific HIPAA Form C and your template recruitment message.
- Obtain IRB approval — Only IRB-approved studies may utilize the CCR Registry with approved language from their protocol.
- Submit a TRAC request — After IRB approval; the data elements in your TRAC request must match your approved protocol.
- Set up your study — Register in the Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS); a Clinical Data Navigator (CDN) builds your "OK to contact" cohort query and Shared Services builds your Epic study workflow. If your department does not have a dedicated CDN, please email trac@cumc.columbia.edu for more guidance.
- Recruit through MyChart — Send your IRB-approved study description to your cohort and track responses in Epic, following the Contact Frequency Policy. A member of the Shared Services team will provide a training on how to send these messages and utilize your dashboard once the build is completed.
Additional Support Across CUIMC
- CUIMC Privacy Office - The Privacy Office supports our investigators and patients in following patient privacy and HIPAA.
- Human Research Protection Office and Institutional Review Boards (HRPO/IRB) - IRB approval is required for studies recruiting through the CCR Registry.
- Clinical Trials Office (CTO) - The CTO supports the CTMS and other services for investigators conducting clinical trials.
- RecruitMe - RecruitMe is a Columbia-specific study-listing and volunteer-registry platform.
Eligibility
All Columbia researchers can utilize this recruitment method, all studies are subject to IRB and TRAC approval.
Cost
There is no cost for using this service.
Cite it, Submit it, Share it!
If your research has benefited from one or more Irving Institute resources, please remember to:
- Cite our CTSA grant in any relevant publications, abstracts, chapters, and/or posters.
- Submit your publications to PubMed Central (PMC) for compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
- Share your research updates with us by sending an email to: irving_institute@cumc.columbia.edu
