Collaboration streamlined
Managing your ethics review panels can be a difficult and complex task as you may have multiple panels, each with any number of members, all with different roles. Add to that the need to manage the meetings, decisions and communication between panel members and researchers and the task can be complicated and time consuming.
To help administrators manage panels effectively, organisations should invest in tools and systems that simplify processes and improve transparency. Quality systems and processes will also provide additional assurances to researchers that their applications are being reviewed in a fair and impartial manner in accordance with industry standards.
Clear communication and consistent documentation of ethics reviews contributes immeasurably to the quality and integrity of the process.
In the latest release of OmniStar Ethics (version 4.8) the panel functionality has been significantly improved to provide more flexibility and usability for organisations who use panels as part of their ethics review process.
Some of the new features include:
Centralised Management
Internal administrators can view all panels in a single list and see the type of panel, its members, associated applications, projects, and reviews easily. You are then easily able to send emails and arrange meetings.
Conflict of Interest Declarations
Panel members can logon and submit a conflict of interest declaration. If a panel member declares that there is a conflict, an automated notification is sent to the administrator who can logon, view the declaration, and act as necessary.
Panel Roles
Administrators are able to allocate different roles and responsibilities to individual panel members. These roles can also vary between panels so if someone is on more than one panel, they can have a different role on each panel.
Personalised communications
The Panel Type configuration allows for specific email templates to be allocated to certain panel types for tailored communications to panel members. This allows for consistency when communicating to the members and also acknowledges that each panel is different and has its own requirements.
Meeting management
The meeting wizard is used to create panel meetings where you can define attendees and attach applications, projects, or other documents that need to be reviewed. The administrator can also create the meeting agenda and circulate the meeting to the attendees. Panel members have access to all documentation including the agenda from their portal. Administrators can also conduct the meeting through OmniEthics and at the conclusion create meeting minutes and email researchers if further information is required.
Managing your committees and panels doesn’t need to be difficult or overwhelming. OmniEthics is a purpose-built Ethics management system designed to manage every aspect of the Ethics process. It has been designed with the user in mind and with these enhancements, it makes managing your panels simple, easy, and more efficient for immediately visible benefits.
