What is it?

The CHES platform is a specialized software dedicated to the assessment, storage and processing of electronically collected patient-reported outcome data (ePRO). It is a product of the software company ESD – Evaluation Software Development (www.ches.pro) and facilitates the development (phase III and IV studies) of the PRO measures of the EORTC Quality of Life Group (QLG), their use for research activities as well as the dissemination of computer adaptive measures (CAT). Furthermore, the CHES platform promotes the use of ePRO in daily clinical routine by providing a versatile tool suitable for both health care personnel and patients (online patient portal fostering patient empowerment).

What does it have to offer?

Depending on the purpose of ePRO, the functionalities of the CHES platform cover a broad range of features:

  • the administration of questionnaires or CAT
  • the processing of data
  • sophisticated graphical data presentatiot
  • the monitoring and management of studies by providing
    • electronic case report forms
    • assessment schedules
    • remote data assessment
    • patient portals

The CHES platform is amongst others suitable for the following areas of application:

  • Questionnaire administration and/or data collection in the framework of EORTC QLQ module development or other EORTC QLG-funded studies.
  • Monitoring features for conducting methodological studies concerning EORTC QLG measures.
  • The demonstration and implementation of the CHES platform in daily oncology practice when using EORTC QLG measures.
  • The demonstration and administration of the EORTC CAT measures. Especially CAT requires a reliable and feasible software system for measurement dissemination. For the EORTC QLQ-C30 scales Physical, Emotional and Social Functioning and Fatigue, a CAT demo is available. After each answer, the item response theory (IRT) score and its confidence interval is displayed. A summary of data is provided after CAT completion.

All data collected with the CHES platform in EORTC QLG studies are securely and anonymously stored on EORTC servers. A sophisticated data export tool allows principal investigators as well as collaborators to export their data.

How is it used?

The CHES platform can be used in all common web-browsers and does not require any local software installation. The software complies with the Good clinical practice guidelines (GCP) for electronic data collection.

According to a Master Service Agreement between the company ESD and the EORTC, the CHES platform can be made available for EORTC QLG funded studies to electronically collect, process and present EORTC questionnaire data. This includes the setup and maintenance of the software for the duration of the study.

Participating collaborators receive a unique user name and password for the individual setup of the CHES platform used for the respective study. Depending on previously allocated user rights, users can e.g. enter and edit data, prepare questionnaires for completion, manage studies, collect ePRO and access and/or download files (such as a user manual, troubleshooting handbook, case report forms, etc.).

After being entered into the data base (by using a Health Level 7 interface to clinical information systems/electronic health records this step can be automated), patients receive a unique user name and password as well, but access a different graphical interface with functionalities which are tailored to data collection and the interests of patients. If a study includes access to a patient portal, patients can be provided with their own ePRO scores and online content, which takes their individual situation into account (e.g. a patient with high scores of sleeping disturbances can be provided with educational material regarding sleep hygiene).