Web-based Application CAPCR Moves Clinical Trials Forward

Clinical trials are complex. It takes extensive planning and coordination to get a clinical trial up and running without a hitch, and with over 150 new clinical trials a year, The Princess Margaret is the expert of experts when it comes down to launching clinical trials.

This would not be possible without strong IT systems, and The Princess Margaret relies on a web-based application system known as the Coordinated Approval Process for Clinical Research (CAPCR) to keep track of the progress of our multiple trials and move our research forward.

CAPCR was developed six years ago at UHN to streamline the research review and approval process across the organization. This included teams like the UHN Research Ethics Board, grants and contracts, and all of the key clinical services required to ensure research studies are opened efficiently, reducing duplications in effort, and maximizing compliance with regulations, processes, and institutional policies.

“The CAPCR software has been instrumental in enabling the successful activation of hundreds of studies at The Princess Margaret every year. It has allowed a bird's-eye view of our clinical research portfolio and enabled reviews of business processes across the organization to maximize our ability to speed up activation times and reduce work ... something that is not possible in a paper-based environment,” says Carl Virtanen, Director of Research, UHN Digital.