Working with Biomedical Informatics
What is biomedical informatics, anyway?
Informatics is the science of how to use data, information and knowledge to improve human health and the delivery of health care services.
Biomedical informatics is one part of this interdisciplinary field that applies principles of computer and information science to the advancement of life sciences research, public health, and patient care. It studies the effective uses of biomedical data, information, and knowledge for scientific inquiry, problem solving, and decision making.
Recognizing that people are the ultimate users of biomedical information, biomedical informatics draws upon the social and behavioral sciences to inform the design and evaluation of technical solutions and the evolution of complex economic, ethical, social, educational, and organizational systems.
To accomplish this, biomedical informatics specialists develop, study and apply theories, methods and processes for the generation, storage, retrieval, use, and sharing of biomedical data, information, and knowledge. They can also build on computing, communication, and information sciences and technologies as they apply to health research across the translational spectrum.
-Definition courtesy of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA)
You have questions. We have answers.
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Health Research
If you are using clinical data for a health research project, including clinical trials or public health studies, you are in the right place! These requests are routed through CCTS Research Ally’s biomedical informatics team. Simply submit a service request and a Research Navigator will contact you to discuss your data needs.
Operational & Quality Analytics
If you are using clinical data to examine operational efficiency, quality of clinical care and/or chart reviews and your project does not require IRB determination, your request must be routed through UI Health Information Services.
To learn more, submit a request via https://it.uic.edu/about/ui-health-is/.
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The CCTS Biomedical Informatics team continually develops the Clinical Research Data Warehouse (CRDW) to support the University of Illinois Chicago research community. The CRDW serves as a secure, centralized source for human subjects’ data, integrating clinical data and protected health information (PHI) from multiple systems with an optimized Research Patient Repository (RPR). This enables the creation of data marts for clinical, translational, and basic research.
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The CRDW receives a daily feed of medical record data from UI Health, which includes data from the hospital and the Mile Square Health Centers. It contains data from both Cerner and Epic EMRs and combines them into two clinical data models that are available for researchers: I2B2 and OMOP.
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Date range of optimized data: January 1, 2010 – Present
- Patient demographic information (e.g. age, sex, race/ethnicity)
- Visit information (e.g. visit type, length of stay, discharge disposition, medical service, insurance)
- Scheduling information (e.g. appointments, appointment type, appointment status)
- Medications (Cerner Multum & RxNorm)
- Vitals (e.g. blood pressure, temperature, height, weight, etc.)
- Lab test results (name of lab test and/or codes [Sunquest & LOINC])
- Diagnoses (diagnosis names and/or codes [ICD-9-CM & ICD-10-CM])
- Procedures (procedure names and/or codes [ICD-9-CM Vol 3, ICD-10-PCS, CPT, & HCPCS])
- Maternity (MaRS, Cerner Maternity, and Epic)
- Imaging data from the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)
Not readily available data (as of March 2026):
- Dentistry data (UI Health is migrating the Dentistry EMR system to Epic Wisdom in summer 2026)
- Pharmacy fill data outside of UI Health (i.e. retail pharmacy)
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Depending on your needs, the steps required to access data may differ. Below is a summary of what to expect after submitting a request for service. See the tab on “Dataset Types & IRB Requirements” for additional details.
CRDW Data Counts
See Dataset Type 1
- A CCTS Research Navigator will send a confirmation email introducing you to the Biomedical Informatics (BI) team. The team may request a copy of your research proposal and/or associated IRB documents, if available.
- The Research Navigator will schedule a meeting with you and other key members of your team, if applicable, to discuss your research and the criteria for your aggregate counts.
- One of our research specialists will then pull the requested data and provide it to your team through your delivery method of choice (i.e. REDCap, excel, etc.)
CRDW Clinical Data Extracts
See Datasets 2-6. This requires IRB approval
- A CCTS Research Navigator will send a confirmation email introducing you to the BI team. The team may request a copy of your research proposal and/or associated IRB documents, if available.
- The Research Navigator will schedule a meeting with you and other key member of your team, if applicable.
- Your team will provide the BI team with a complete Data Request Authorization (DRA) form.
- Your team will also provide the BI team with an IRB approval letter and DRA approval (if applicable).
- After these materials are received, you will receive a service estimate via the CCTS Research Navigator. This must be approved and payment information provided before any data is pulled.
- After estimate approval, your team must provide the BI team with an updated Appendix P. The coordinator will then provide you with an Internal Data Usage Agreement (IDUA), which must be reviewed and signed by the PI and submitted back to the BI team.
- Once received, one of our research specialists will complete the requested data extract and provide it to your team via REDCap or another specified secure environment. The BI team will contact the PI when the data is ready.
1. Aggregate Counts
For: Study feasibility; hypothesis testing
Requests for aggregate counts provide the number of patients within stipulated parameters. No PHI is given – only a count of patients or events. This type of data is typically requested in preparation for a proposal or grant submission.
Investigators can also access QUICKSet/i2b2 to obtain some counts data on their own. Training is required to access this system.
2. De-identified Data Set
For: Chart review, retrospective only (no updates or supplements)
This data set is provided without any of the 18 direct identifiers (as defined by HIPAA) and is non-coded. An IRB approved Data Request Authorization (DRA) form is required prior to data extraction.
3. Coded Data Set
For: Chart review, retrospective and prospective
This data set is stripped of the 18 direct identifiers but is provided to the researcher in a uniquely coded rather than a de-identified manner. This allows CRDW staff to re-identify the data and provide an updated data set on a continuous basis. The key to enable linkage of a coded dataset with PHI will remain only with the CRDW staff.
An IRB approved Data Request Authorization (DRA) form is required prior to data extraction.
4. Limited Data Set
For: Chart reviews that require indirect identifiers such as zip code or dates
Similar to data set type 3 above, this dataset contains health data that does not include direct identifiers (such as name and street address). However, limited data sets MAY contain the following indirect identifiers:
- Town or city, state, zip code
- Ages in years up to 90 years (must aggregate all ages 90 or older)
- Dates directly related to an individual – such as birth date, date of death, admission date, discharge date, visit date, diagnosis date, etc. (Month/year is preferred).
An IRB approved Data Request Authorization (DRA) form is required prior to data extraction.
5. Information for Recruitment Purposes
For: Recruitment for clinical studies, clinical registries
This type of data set includes contact information of patients for the purpose of pre-trial screening or recruitment for a clinical trial, interventional, or observational study. The goal is to promote best practices for recruiting and consenting potential research subjects. Data provided may include patient names, medical record number, telephone number, address, clinic schedule (time and location), primary care physician name, and provider.
An IRB approved Data Request Authorization (DRA) form is required prior to data extraction.
6. Identified Data Set
For: Studies on an identified cohort, clinical trials
This type of data set contains identified patient data for a research study. The researcher defines a group of human subjects for whom a specific set of data is requested. The identified cohort could be individuals that have provided consent in the context of an approved IRB protocol, individuals identified through one of the above processes, or individuals identified through the researcher’s clinical activities. The data request could be a snapshot of what is available at the time of request or updated data that could be provided on an ongoing basis.
An IRB approved Data Request Authorization (DRA) form is required prior to data extraction.
Answer
his depends on the complexity of the request and the volume of requests at that time. Typically, a request can be completed in 4-6 weeks. However, we do our best to accommodate urgent deadlines. Investigators will receive an individualized time estimate after their request is approved by the IRB.
Answers
There are three HIPAA compliant options for data delivery: REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture), Box Health Data Folder, or a Secure Compute Environment managed by Technology Solutions.
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The Biomedical Informatics core offers the option of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for long-term collaboration with one of our informatics specialists. This support may include, but is not limited to: informatics infrastructure development, data engineering, data governance, and managing multi-site data requests.
Contact a CCTS Research Navigator to learn more about MOUs at ccts-services@uic.edu.
