On Jan. 16, the UNMC Institutional Review Board (IRB) will launch a new online electronic application submission system.
The new user-friendly system — created through a close collaboration between the staff in the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) and the UNMC IT Department — will:
- Streamline the application process and make it easier for investigators to complete and submit protocols; and
- Help ensure that the IRB receives the information necessary for its review which, in turn, should help facilitate and potentially accelerate the entire submission, review and approval process.
This is the first step in a multi-year plan to create a paperless submission and review process.
Important notes
As of Jan. 16, the ORA will no longer accept any new initial IRB applications in paper format.
Full board applications submitted before Jan. 16, will remain in paper format for the life of the study. Conversion of those full board applications from paper to the electronic format will not be necessary for the foreseeable future.
Expedited applications that were submitted prior to Jan. 16, will remain in paper format until Continuing Review, at which time they must be converted to the electronic application.
Exempt applications that were submitted prior to Jan. 16, will remain in paper format until the end of their approval period, at which time they must be converted to the electronic application.
Training forthcoming
Education sessions about the online system will be conducted the first two weeks in January. All investigators and other research personnel are strongly encouraged to attend at least one of these two-hour sessions.
Register now as space for each session is limited to 40 people. The sign-up site is protected by a log in password which is “IRB.” Contact the ORA office at 559-6463 if you have any difficulty.
Knowing how long it takes to gather all information for an IRB application, one can only hope that it is possible to save the online form as a draft and continue the submission at a later time point. It doesn't actually need an online submission form to go paperless. Saving a word file as PDF and submitting it via email might be a more effective solution.
Kay,
To answer your question, yes, once you begin and application it remains in your list under "edit" until you submit it to the IRB. This will all be explained at the training sessions.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at slogsdon@unmc.edu or 559-3779 if you have more questions!
Sue Logsdon, MS, CIP
IRB Administrator