What is the ACT Network Data Explorer?
The ACT Network is a real-time platform allowing researchers to explore and validate feasibility for clinical studies across the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium, from their desktops. ACT helps researchers design and complete clinical studies, and is secure, HIPAA-compliant and IRB-approved.
ACT was developed collaboratively by members of NCATS’ Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium, with funding from the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
Prior to ACT, the UC Research eXchange (UC ReX) and the UC ReX Data Explorer tool--initiated by the UC Office of the President (UCOP), UC BRAID--were developed as groundbreaking tools through a collaboration of the medical campuses and their Chief Information Officers and CTSAs. UC ReX provided over 14 million datasets until it was replaced by ACT, the new national sharing platform, in 2019.
Who is participating?
ACT plans to include all institutions that are part of the NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program. Click here for a list of connected sites.
What data is available through this tool?
Cohort counts rather than data sets are available through ACT. These are based on de-identified data extracted from each institution’s clinical data warehouse, transformed into a common data representation, and stored in a separate, dedicated data repository at each institution. ACT currently allows for interactive searches based on patients':
What can ACT not do?
ACT is a cohort discovery tool, meaning only patient counts can be retrieved. Individual patient-level data cannot be accessed through this tool, but it is possible to gather this information outside of ACT. Please contact us directly at act@mednet.ucla.edu if you would like individual patient-level data. These requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Who can use the tool?
To access ACT, researchers must request an ACT account and complete training. Researchers must be affiliated with a UCLA principal investigator.
To get started or for questions, please email act@mednet.ucla.edu.Additional Resources
Training materials and background information about ACT is available on the ACT website.
View ACT How-To Resources
The resources page on the ACT website provides an overview for using ACT. These tutorials offer a quick-start guide to using the ACT Network, and tips for ACT users.
What does ACT stand for?
ACT is an acronym for Accrual to Clinical Trials.
What are the benefits of ACT? Why is it needed?
ACT helps clinical investigators conduct cohort discovery before a trial starts, to establish feasibility of a clinical protocol for grant applications, IRB submissions, etc. ACT also helps investigators identify additional sites for a clinical trial. By allowing investigators to thoroughly explore patient cohorts and potential sites before finalizing their clinical protocols, ACT increases the odds of successfully completing clinical trial recruitment.
Where do the ICD codes come from?
ICD codes are based on billing data from both inpatient and outpatient encounters.
Is each patient reported in ACT a unique patient?
Yes, each patient reported in ACT is unique to the corresponding institution. Whether a query consists of multiple ICD-9 codes, demographics, date restrictions, etc., each patient is only counted once.
Currently, if a patient has been admitted to more than one ACT-affiliated site, he/she will be counted as a separate patient at each institution. This may inflate the total patient count across all institutions, but the site-level count will remain unaffected.
How can I use ACT to recruit patients for my study?
ACT is a cohort discovery tool and, thus, will only provide patient counts for a specific query. To go further and receive identified patient data for recruitment purposes, you will need to follow the steps below:
To get more information on how to access patient-level data from ACT, please click on the link below:
Obtaining Medical Record Data to Conduct Your Research
This Terms-of-Query-Access Agreement is designed to permit approved users access to the NCATS Accrual to Clinical Trials (ACT) Network federated query tool for the purpose of requesting aggregate clinical data from participating organizations who are members of the ACT network.
Each Participating ACT Organization individually contributes and allows access to aggregate clinical data for research purposes only. By logging into UCLA's instance of ACT you certify that you understand and agree to all applicable terms contained herein.