C. KENNETH AND DIANNE WRIGHT CENTER
FOR CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH

Epic Best Practice Advisory (BPA) Recruitment Tool

Epic's Best Practice Advisory (BPA) recruitment tool, with IRB approval, is used as a point-of-care recruitment strategy to identify patients who might qualify for a research study.  At the study-level, inclusion/exclusion criteria are built within Epic.  When a patient presents to VCU Health and meets the screening criteria built within the BPA recruitment tool, a secure message is sent to targeted clinicians/research teams.  Clinician/research teams can reach out to the potentially eligible patient and discuss the study with the patient to determine if they are interested in participating/being contacted about the study.  Within the advisory, you can allow clinicians to indicate the patient's interest or send a recruitment request through MyChart. 

Prior to BPA activation, IRB approval for use of BPA is required.  The IRB application must provide detailed information regarding the BPA recruitment tool's intended use for recruitment. It is necessary to clarify whether Epic BPAs will be employed for patient eligibility assessment and recruitment, as opposed to simply stating "electronic means for recruitment." Specifically, the IRB requires information on how the BPA will operate within the research context, including how it will access and evaluate patient data and under what conditions. The IRB request for the BPA should explain the mechanisms in place to protect patient privacy, such as a partial HIPAA waiver, when accessing medical records through the BPA recruitment tool. This will ensure that the IRB can comprehensively assess the risks and safeguards associated with BPA usage.

The request form is linked here.