Increasing the understanding in cohort definition and diagnostics using the OHDSI tools

3 min read

The Hyve gave the TFS HealthScience staff a better understanding of the OMOP/OHDSI ecosystem. During the online workshop we provided, our instructors explained how to create cohort definitions and assess them in ATLAS. We also created and ran standard OHDSI analyses to support the client’s use case.

The challenge

TFS HealthScience is a leading global Contract Research Organisation (CRO) that supports biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies throughout their entire clinical development journey. TFS HealthScience aims for excellence in clinical research by providing scientific expertise, tailored flexible solutions and consistent quality throughout the entire clinical development process.

TFS contacted The Hyve because they wanted to better understand the OMOP/OHDSI ecosystem, with a special focus on how to create cohort definitions and assess those in ATLAS and how to create and run standard OHDSI analyses.

How we solved it

To achieve the goals set by TFS, we gave an interactive workshop. This would enable them to acquire the necessary skills quicker than by just using the available community resources. The Hyve’s colleagues discussed with TFS staff how to best streamline and facilitate the adoption of the various open-source OHDSI stack components. Two of our OHDSI experts, Maxim Moinat and Stefan Payralbe, then provided hands-on training and tailored education.

The interactive workshop consisted of two online sessions. Live demos and exercises were provided to help the participants absorb and retain the newly acquired knowledge effectively. We encouraged a lively conversation during the sessions by triggering questions from and to the participants. The training provided the participants with quick access to resources and foundational knowledge on the following topics:

  1. ATLAS cohort definition and characterisation.

  2. Introduction to HADES packages and OHDSI studies.

  3. Approaches to creating an OHDSI study: running a basic study with cohort diagnostics and creating a study package, running the study package on a synthetic dataset.

  4. Process of running an OHDSI network study: local development, sharing code, merging results, sending out to the network.

For reference, the participants were provided with session recordings, a handout of the presentations, and the answers to the homework.

The outcome

The learning goals of the workshop were to get familiar with the OMOP/OHDSI ecosystem, cohort definition and OHDSI study packages. The workshop provided TFS staff with a better understanding of those concepts. The knowledge gained during the workshop provided them with a sound foundation for further use and development of their OHDSI skills. Also, this training will enable TFS to provide additional OHDSI services to their biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients.

The workshop was received with great enthusiasm and engagement from the TFS staff. We are looking forward to seeing the workshop participants attend OHDSI community meetings in the future and to actively contribute to its working groups.

Download workshop agenda

Download this draft workshop agenda to get an overview of the topics that are generally covered during the individual sessions, such as the OMOP Common Data Model, the OHDSI tool suite for analytics and data quality assessment, where to find learning and training resources, best practices and common challenges.

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Testimonials

What people say about The Hyve

"The workshops provided by The Hyve were very helpful to understand and perform all the processes needed to transform our cohort data into the common data model (OMOP) and use the cutting-edge OHDSI tools for analyzing observational studies. We are glad to have been introduced to the OHDSI real-world data platform and networks by the experts of The Hyve."

Alexis Sentís Fuster, Epidemiologist at Centre for Epidemiological Studies of Sexually Transmitted Disease and AIDS in Catalonia (CEEISCAT)

"The Hyve is the clear choice for institutions looking to maximize the value and impact of their OMOP CDM. Working directly with the maintainers of the OHDSI software tools we use at TrialSpark was a great learning experience that also resulted in tangible improvements to our data quality and analytics tooling. The Hyve engineers' curiosity and dedication is an inspiration to our team and to the broader OHDSI community."

Katy Sadowski, Technical Product Manager at TrialSpark

"The Hyve is one of Europe’s leading technology IT services providers who have established an international reputation within the biomedical informatics domain, from open standards such as OHDSI to working with FAIR principles. With their passionate leadership, they have been involved in numerous projects including the European Health Data & Evidence Network (EHDEN). I have no doubt that all of these projects have benefited greatly from their thinking, insights and hands-on expertise."

Nigel Hughes, Industry Lead at IMI EHDEN Project

"A few years ago, we decided to invest in our institute-wide registry for patients and samples and make that data available to all researchers within our institute. We pursued this avenue together with The Hyve and they have been a tremendous help in developing new features, thinking about possible solutions and maintaining the platform.”

Patrick Kemmeren, Principal Investigator at Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology