From the National Library of Medicine Technical Bulletin:
Beginning June 19, 2017, ClinicalTrials.gov will undergo a series of changes focused on improving the ability to search, display, and review information about clinical research studies registered with the site.
This article highlights information about the first of these efforts — the transition to the design and features available on the current version of the beta site (see Beta Version of ClinicalTrials.gov Available for Testing).
Additional designs and features will be evaluated on a new version of the beta site over the next few months.
Changes will be introduced on ClinicalTrials.gov as they are ready, following testing and validation. It is anticipated that the most significant set of changes will be available on ClinicalTrials.gov in September 2017. More information will be provided in future NLM Technical Bulletin notices.
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As of May 25, 2017, ClinicalTrials.gov lists information about 245,500 clinical studies and expanded access in all 50 states and 200 countries.
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Background and Phased Implementation Approach to ClinicalTrials.gov Updates
Following the last significant update to ClinicalTrials.gov in September 2012 (see New Style and New Content for ClinicalTrials.gov), NLM continued conducting user studies with outside usability experts, analyzing online survey results, and reviewing user suggestions for additional features and use cases. This work led to incremental changes and, ultimately, the release of a beta site. The current version of the beta site has been available for public user testing since February 2017.In September 2016, Dr. Francis S. Collins, NIH Director, announced a new partnership between NLM and 18F, a digital services consultancy within the U.S. General Services Administration, to continue work on making ClinicalTrials.gov a consumer-friendly resource (see the NIH Director’s Blog post on Clinical Trials: Sharing of Data and Living Up to Our End of the Bargain). Additionally, the 21st Century Cures Act, enacted into Federal law in December 2016, requires NIH “to receive recommendations with respect to enhancements” of ClinicalTrials.gov from consultation with various stakeholders, including patients, researchers, physicians, industry representatives, developers of health information technology, and other Federal agencies.
Since February 2017, 18F has conducted user research with end-users representing various ClinicalTrials.gov stakeholders; characterized gaps between the information, search capabilities, and features that ClinicalTrials.gov offers, and what users expect it to offer; and provided user-oriented recommendations and solutions. This work with 18F, which will continue through September 2017, also addresses the legal requirements under Section 2054 of the Cures Act.
The June 19, 2017, update of ClinicalTrials.gov will incorporate some of the initial 18F recommendations. However, further development, testing, and validation of additional 18F recommendations and findings are needed before being implemented.
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Coming Soon to ClinicalTrials.gov
Additional enhancements to ClinicalTrials.gov are under development and include, but are not limited to:
- Searching for U.S. studies by ZIP code and radius in miles
- Redesigning the study record layout to make the most relevant information more prominent
The COMPLETE article includes additional info including a look at new features in the current release.
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