Forte Research Systems, Inc. Fosters Partnerships for Clinical Research Excellence at Onsemble 2011 Fall Conference

MADISON, Wis., Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 150 clinical research professionals from around the country gathered to collaborate on key issues facing clinical research at the Onsemble 2011 Fall Conference. Hosted by Forte Research Systems, the 12th semi-annual conference was attended by current and prospective users of the company's market-leading product, the OnCore Clinical Research Management system.

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Among the many highlights of the conference, which was held September 14-16 at the Monona Terrace, were discussions that laid the groundwork for valuable partnerships that positively impact the clinical research landscape.

The Power of Partnerships

A presentation by Dr. Purvish Parikh set the stage for global partnerships in clinical research in oncology, as he shared the vision of the Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON). The organization, which has more than 350 professionals across India, has aimed to improve prevention and management of human cancers through its efforts. Giving insight into the clinical research landscape in India, members of the Onsemble community were invited to participate in the mutual opportunities there for clinical research.

Technology partnerships were also an important topic at the conference. In conjunction with Forte's recent release of its Software Development Toolkit (SDK), which was created to provide easier integration with external systems, the agenda featured a session dedicated to the topic of integration of eIRB systems with OnCore. Panelists provided the site perspective on the benefits and challenges of integration, while representatives from Topaz Technologies and BEC (creator of IRBManager) rounded out the session with presentations from the vendor perspective.

Following the session at the conference, Forte announced that it currently has five partnerships in place with eIRB vendors for pre-integration work with OnCore. "These partnerships are designed to bring greater efficiencies to the clinical research industry," said Srini Kalluri, Founder, President, CEO, and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Forte Research Systems. "The five partnerships are only the beginning. We offered our SDK so that OnCore could be integrated with all eIRB systems. We believe in the concept of opening communication between systems and, thereby, improving clinical research operations across the industry."

Another key announcement that was made at the conference is the OnCore Certification Program. The "Train the Trainer" program was introduced as a way to assist institutions in the training of staff on the Clinical Research Management system by establishing experts at each site. More information on the program can be found at the Forte website.

Additional Successes at Onsemble 2011 Fall Conference

The 12th Onsemble Conference was a place for discussion and collaboration between research professionals on a variety of key issues facing operations, including regulatory compliance, effort tracking, and financials and budgeting.

The keynote address centered on a pivotal issue for the community: billing compliance. Ryan Meade, partner at Meade & Roach, LLP, a firm specializing in regulatory compliance matters in the health care industry, presented top solutions to the challenges posed by billing compliance. Meade's expertise on the subject comes from prominent work in the field of billing compliance, notably representing Rush University Medical Center in its landmark settlement with the government related to clinical trials billing overpayments.

For the second consecutive time, the conference featured a workshop dedicated to the usage of the OnCore Clinical Research Management system by Clinical and Translational Science Institutes. Attendance at the workshop was high and the content of the session was well received, a strong indication that interest in the adoption of OnCore among those institutes is gaining even more traction.

For the first time in the history of the semi-annual event, the Onsemble Fall Conference featured a pre-conference workshop focusing on Biospecimen Management. With a record-setting attendance, current and prospective users of the OnCore Biospecimen Management product (OnCore-BSM) discussed processes and workflows of organizations using the system to manage their biorepositories.

"The Onsemble conferences embody the vision of Forte to collaborate with current and prospective users of the company's software to not only improve the OnCore system, but to also facilitate the sharing of ideas and best practices among our customers, " said Tony O'Hare, Co-founder, Vice President of Engineering, and Chief Collaboration Officer at Forte Research Systems. "The goal is to provide a forum for progress industry-wide, and this conference successfully generated collaboration among the community. It is with this goal in mind that we will continue to host the Onsemble conferences."

The next gathering, Onsemble 2012 Spring Conference, will be held March 7-9, 2012 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center and is being co-hosted by the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UCSF.

ABOUT ONSEMBLE CONFERENCES

The semi-annual Onsemble conferences are gatherings of the Onsemble community, which is largely comprised of OnCore users, and are facilitated by Forte Research Systems, Inc. With the vision of "for the members, by the members," the majority of content is generated and presented by the members of the community. The community is comprised of cancer centers, children's hospitals, research consortia, and academic health centers. The people who attend are largely Clinical Trials Office leadership, clinical research associates, data managers, and regulatory managers, with some representation from other areas including clinical trials financials, clinical informatics, and biostatistics.

ABOUT FORTE RESEARCH SYSTEMS, INC.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Forte Research Systems, Inc. develops clinical and translational research management software. The company's flagship product, the OnCore® system, is the nation's most widely adopted clinical research platform among academic research organizations and cancer centers. The OnCore platform is the result of over a decade of experience working closely with large research organizations, including institutes funded by the National Institute of Health's Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program and forty percent of the NCI designated cancer centers.

For information about the OnCore clinical research informatics platform, contact Forte Research Systems at (608) 826-6002 or visit the company online at www.ForteResearch.com.

SOURCE Forte Research Systems, Inc.