SCDM Releases Best Practices for Automated Data Cleaning

Milwaukee,WI

The Society for Clinical Data Management recently published Edit Check Design Principles, a collection of best practices for the creation of edit checks-a key tool for efficiency and data quality.

The chapter is a new addition to SCDM’s Good Clinical Data Management Practices(GCDMP), an award-winning resource for clinical data managers and others involved in medical device, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical trials.

According to SCDM, edit checks are a crucial component of achieving error-free data.

“Trustworthy data are necessary for successful analysis and assessment in clinical research,” said Charlene Dark, CCDM, GCDMP Taskforce leader. “By publishing a set of best practices pertaining to edit check design, SCDM provides a foundation from which Clinical Data Management professionals can create comprehensive data cleaning to meet the highest level of data integrity.”

The new chapter focuses on creating efficient and accurate edit checks, automated review processes used to identify errors in data. It also discusses different types of edit checks and things to consider when working with them.

“The best practices outlined in Edit Check Design Principles are universal and can be applied in any clinical research setting-pharmaceutical, biotech or CRO, U.S.-based or international, paper trials or EDC,” said Melissa Lamb, who serves as a subject matter expert for SCDM’s GCDMP Taskforce. “This chapter is a guide for creating edit checks that result in the common goal of data quality and accuracy.”

The new text is available free to SCDM members, or by purchase to non-members, through the SCDM Web site. A podcast of the chapter is in production and scheduled for release this spring.