CTSI’s Study Budget Tool is now available for use. The tool allows investigators and study teams working in Fairview and M Physicians facilities to propose various study scenarios in order to estimate their potential cost.
Streamlining study startup
The Study Budget Tool, developed by Health Sciences Technology, is designed for researchers and study team members who are interested in estimating the costs of study visits. The tool streamlines study budgeting by allowing researchers to estimate costs using different study parameters. It also allows researchers to determine if a study is financially feasible before spending resources on study start-up.
Researchers can adjust factors including the number of participants or visits, study arms, and study procedures to estimate study costs. They are also able to develop multiple scenarios for the same study to make comparisons between them. The available clinical procedures are associated with the order code used in Epic, the electronic health record system, and the procedure prices are drawn directly from OnCore’s research chargemaster for accurate pricing and seamless integration of estimates into practice.
Once researchers have determined the visit schedule they want to move forward with, they can export the budget framework to easily share it with their accountant for inclusion in the grant application budget or export the visit calendar and include it with the study protocol as a part of the OnCore calendar request.
Accessing the Study Budget Tool
Investigators and study teams who plan to use the Fairview or M Physician facilities are able to access the Study Budget Tool using their x500 login credentials. The Study Budget Tool is one of several CTSI researcher resources created to streamline study design.