NCPCR Cohort Discovery

The NCPCR Data Ecosystem will include information from community health centers (CHCs), which are geographically located in CEAL communities and provide primary care to patients often left out of clinical research opportunities. The clinical trial will work with community health workers (CHWs) from CHCs to identify patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or hypertension. 

Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM)leads the Southeast Regional Clinicians Network (SERCN) within the National Center for Primary Care (NCPC) which is the only congressionally sanctioned center dedicated to primary care. SERCN is an Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and a designated practice-based research network that includes federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and primary care associations across eight southeastern states, providing robust infrastructure and expertise for community-engaged research.

OCHIN and Health Choice Network (HCN) are national non-academic Health Center Controlled Networks and health information technology providers. Through the PCORI-funded ADVANCE* Clinical Research Network, both OCHIN and HCN have shared research data infrastructure including the PCORnet® Common Data Model (CDM) and ADVANCE research data warehouse. ADVANCE seeks to increase the inclusion of patients who receive care in FQHCs in research.

Introducing the NCPCR Cohort Discovery 

The NCPCR Data Ecosystem will include electronic health record (EHR) data elements (demographic, clinical, and social determinants of health measures documented in the EHR) for patients from 26 randomized controlled trial sites. 

Recognizing that many researchers across the CEAL Initiative may benefit from access to the data in the NCPCR Data Ecosystem, we have created the NCPCR Cohort Discovery. This free-to-use, web-based, drag and drop interface allows queries of the NCPCR Data Ecosystem to estimate patient cohort size and demographic distribution for preparatory-to-research purposes. This will help identify how you may be able to incorporate the CEAL NCPCR Data Ecosystem into your work. 

These queries can be run from your own web browser and do not require any coding to generate the resulting patient cohort making it a highly accessible tool.

As of March 1, 2025, NCPCR Cohort Discovery is available for researchers to use and contains data from all HCN and OCHIN Clinics.

Accessing the NCPCR Cohort Discovery 

To access NCPCR Cohort Discovery, please complete this REDCap form* selecting “CEAL/NCPCR Research Partner.” As part of this form, you will have to attest to having completed Human Subjects Research (HSR) and Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. Once approved, you can have an account created and can then access the NCPCR Cohort Discovery and begin querying the data!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

• Who can access the NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data? 

Researchers and community partners that are a part of the 21 CEAL states across the United States, including the District of Columbia with active HSR and RCR CITI certifications are welcome to apply for access to the NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data. 

• When will the full NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data be available? 

The full NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data will be available in 2026, following the completion of the CHW-SYSTIM study. 

• What are the limitations to utilizing the NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data? 

The NCPCR Cohort Discovery Data is only available for use for prep-to-research. It is not suitable for use for manuscripts and other types of dissemination. 

• Where can I complete the HSR and RCR trainings? 

The latest HSR* and RCR* trainings are available on the CITI Program website, aboutcitiprogram.org. Please reach out to your institution about your internal registration processes.

To learn more, or if you have any questions, email us at: CEAL_NCPCR@ochin.org

 This research was, in part, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Agreement OT2HL158287. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the NIH.