February 7, 2020: NIH Collaboratory Distributed Research Network Solicits Data Queries to Advance Collaborations

NIH Collaboratory DRN Handout

The NIH Collaboratory Distributed Research Network (DRN) is soliciting queries from investigators at academic institutions, federal agencies, and not-for-profit organizations. The DRN facilitates innovative, multi-institutional collaborations for large, longitudinal observational studies and can support randomized trials.

new handout from the NIH Collaboratory Coordinating Center summarizes the capabilities of the DRN and connects readers to more information, including examples of recent collaborations that leveraged the DRN to answer important questions.

Using a distributed analysis approach, the DRN enables investigators to collaborate with health plan–based research data partners who participate in the FDA’s Sentinel System. These research data partners have access to large sets of administrative claims data and, in some cases, linked clinical data. Also, because the research partners have direct identifiers and a relationship with potential participants, the DRN enables investigators to conduct prospective longitudinal observational studies.

Two recent studies from the DRN highlighted multi-institutional collaborations that used administrative data and claims to define populations, identify outcomes, and generate hypotheses in support of pragmatic clinical trials and other prospective studies. Another recent study used national claims data from the DRN for more than 73 million pediatric visits across the United States to explore declines in potentially inappropriate antibiotic dispensing, a major public health priority.

For more information about the DRN and opportunities for collaboration, contact nih-collaboratory@dm.duke.edu.

Support for the DRN is provided within the NIH Collaboratory by the NIH Common Fund through a cooperative agreement from the Office of Strategic Coordination within the Office of the NIH Director.