REDCap is a browser-based Electronic Case Report Form (eCRF) system, designed to capture research data from both research staff in medical settings and directly from patients via online tools. The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NuTH) REDCap is hosted on secure cloud servers held by ARO, an NHS certified cloud systems provider based in Liverpool, UK. The system is managed by the Newcastle Research Informatics Team, who ensure that patient data is only accessible by authorised individuals and is appropriately anonymised for analysis.

REDCap is typically used to facilitate secure data capture and analysis for research projects including single and multi-site studies, but more advanced implementations include services such as randomisation, pre-screening and electronic consent. The Research Informatics Team can provide access to REDCap or build an entire research project within REDCap, with a costing model based on each individual project.

Newcastle REDCap is often the simplest and most practical way to securely collect and store research data for your project, from single and multi-site research studies through to pre-screening, electronic consent and online registries.

To arrange a demonstration, or to discuss using REDCap for your project, please get in touch with the Research Informatics Team. If you find that our system appears suitable after this discussion, we can then set up an account for you to test out the key functionality that you will need for your project.

The Newcastle REDCap has been validated in-house by the Newcastle Research Informatics team to ensure it is suitable for high risk clinical trials. For more information about our Validation process, see our NCL REDCap Validation Process SOP.

Use of Newcastle REDCap is not mandatory, however we offer a practical, cost-effective and compliant way to store research data. If you decide not to use our REDCap but are wanting to store patient data, please ensure you are complying with the relevant local and NHS governance policies to do so.

REDCap has a vast range of functionality, much of which has been tested and utilised by the Newcastle Research Informatics Team. Some of these functions include:

Data capture. This includes the design and use of forms/CRFs with appropriate validation, ensuring high data quality. Projects can be set up longitudinally if necessary, to collect standardised data at specific time points throughout the study.

Multi-site projects. This allows logged-in users to automatically tag data to their own site, and ensures they are only able to see data belonging to their own site.

Reporting. Table-based and graphical reporting, including dashboards, allows an instant snapshot of the data held within your project. A dedicated data quality area lets you monitor the study for specific criteria, and raise queries within the system.

Randomisation. REDCap can be used to implement a randomisation model, allowing participants to be randomised into a study based on defined parameters at the simple click of a button.

Online questionnaires (surveys). Questionnaires can be sent to participants to complete remotely, with a customisable interface geared towards user-friendliness. Data will automatically feed back into REDCap, keeping your entire dataset in one place. Advanced logic can be implemented to automatically send these questionnaires at specific time points or based on specific criteria.

Twilio SMS messaging. SMS messages can be used to send questionnaire links and reminders to a participant’s phone. REDCap adapts to the device it is opened on, so becomes touch-screen friendly for participants accessing via a touch-enabled device.

Electronic Consent. REDCap can be used to consent participants into a study electronically either during a visit or remotely. The eConsent workflow can be customised to suit the needs of each study, including the display of the PIF, counter-signatures, self-consent and automatic PDF generation. Newcastle Hospitals teams working on a Newcastle REDCap project can purchase standard tablets to use for face-to-face electronic consent (if their project design includes eConsent).

Multi-lingual module. Alternate languages can be inserted into a REDCap project, giving staff or participants the choice of a different language when accessing and entering data into the system.

REDCap app. A REDCap app is available for devices in remote locations where an internet connection is unavailable. Data can be held locally on-device and synced back to the REDCap server at a later time.

We have worked with the NuTH finance department to create a costing model which is based on each individual project. The most important factors affecting cost are administration time (e.g. number of users and sites), build time (if you are not building the project yourself) and length of data storage.

Please get in touch with the Research Informatics Team to discuss your project and receive an accurate quote.

Our REDCap system is hosted by ARO, an NHS certified cloud systems provider based in Liverpool, UK.

REDCap is connected to the internet, meaning it can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection by using increased security measures. This also means that the ‘survey’ functionality of REDCap can be used to send online questionnaires and consent forms to study participants.

Please read our REDCap Data Security SOP for further information on the security measures implemented in our REDCap system.

For more information about data security in research, please visit our dedicated data security page.

REDCap offers a suite of robust training videos, accessible by logging into REDCap and clicking on ‘Training’ at the top of your screen.

We are happy to answer any queries you have regarding the functionality of REDCap while you set up and run your project on the system. However we can also offer an additional level of support for an additional cost. We will quote these support costs to you based on your specific project requirements and agree these with you before proceeding.

When you are satisfied with your project design in REDCap and are ready to start recruiting, click the ‘Move project to production’ button on the bottom of the Project Setup page. This will submit the project to the Research Informatics Team to look over. At this stage we will need verification that all of the necessary approvals are in place to allow data collection to begin. Once we have confirmation of this, you will receive an e-mail to inform you that the project is officially in production mode.

If you make any changes to your project design after it has been moved to production mode, they will need to be submitted to the Research Informatics Team for inspection to ensure there will be no accidental data loss. When you make changes to the forms in production mode, you will be asked to submit them rather than save them and will receive an e-mail once they have been approved.

Please e-mail the Research Informatics Team with the name of the project and the full name, email address and organisation/site of the person(s) who require access, as well as the level of access required. This e-mail must originate from someone who has previously authorised access to the project, or has clearly been given permission to do so.