Release Notes

Features and bug fixes released since last update

Notification System - User Registration Notification

When a user logs into the Catalogues for the first time, they receive a welcome email.

Notification System – Change of Authorship and Co-authors Added

Authors receive confirmation emails whenever there is a change in the list of record authors (i.e., when authors are added or removed from a record).

Notification system – Collaboration Requests

Authors receive collaboration request emails whenever they are invited to become a co-author of a record.

Notification System - Record Update Notifications

Authors receive a confirmation email whenever they submit updated information for validation (i.e., the status of their record changes to “Submitted”).

Notification System – Record Validation Outcome

Authors receive a confirmation email whenever their record is validated, indicating the outcome of their submission (i.e., “Published” or “Returned”).

'Add a Study' form: Study Start Date –Definition Modification

The definition of study start date has been updated to: "Start of data collection date. For primary data collection, this is the date from which information on the first study subject is recorded. For secondary use of data, this is the data extraction start date”. 

A help text has been added to the form to assist authors in filling out the field with the correct information.

'Add a Data Source' form: "Data holder” Drop-down List Modification

The data holder field in the 'Add a Data Source' form has been updated to allow both institutions and networks to act as data holders. Users can now select a network as a data holder when registering a data source.

Search Functionalities – Additional Filters for Study Search

The following filters have been added to the Study search:

  • ATC code: Filter based on Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) codes.
  • Substance (INN): Filter based on active substances using Substance Management Service (SMS) terms.
  • Name of medicine: Filter based on the medicinal product name.
  • Medical condition: Filter based on the Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) term describing the medical condition.
Search Functionalities - Data Elements Collected in the Data Source Search

The following filter has been added in the Data source search:

  • Data elements collected: This filter allows users to retrieve results based on the specific data elements that are recorded in the data source records (e.g., diagnosis, clinical measurements, cause of death, etc).
'Add a Data Source' form: Data Domain Field

A new field has been added to the ‘Add a Data Source’ form to indicate the relevant domain of the data source, specifying whether it collects information on humans or animals. The field is also available in the filters of the Data source search.

'Add a Data Source' form: Species Field (for Veterinary Data Sources)

A new optional field has been added to the ‘Add a Data Source’ form to indicate the species associated with a veterinary data source.

Notification System - Reminder Notification (Planned Start of Data Collection)

Authors of a study receive a reminder about the data collection on the day specified in the "Study start date (planned)” field. This reminder helps them keep the record up to date in case the planned date for data collection has changed.

Notification System - Reminder Notification (Final Report Planned Date)

Authors of a study receive a reminder about the final report one day after the date specified in the "Final study report date (planned)" field. This reminder helps them keep the record up to date in case the planned date for completing the final study report has changed.

Notification System - Reminder for Data Source Record Updates (1 Year After Last Update)

Authors of a data source receive a reminder one year after the last update, prompting them to ensure that the information is up to date.

Notification System - Reminder for Institution Record Updates (1 Year After Last Update)

Authors of an institution receive a reminder one year after the last update, prompting them to ensure that the information is up to date.

Notification System -Reminder for Network Record Updates (1 Year After Last Update)

Authors of a network receive a reminder one year after the last update, prompting them to ensure that the information is up to date.

Resolution of PDF Export issues 

Several formatting issues in the PDF exports have been resolved, including the display of special characters and the availability of previously missing fields.

Search Functionalities - Enable Search of Studies via 'Other study identifiers'

Users can search for and retrieve studies via the text from the ‘Other study ID’ field.

Feature to re-direct study links from the former EU PAS Register to the migrated specific study in the RWD Catalogues

The individual studies indexed in the EU PAS Register had specific individual links. This feature re-directs the user to the specific study record migrated in the RWD Catalogues when the user clicks on the links.

Increase character limit for study objectives and study description fields

The character limit was increased to 10,000 characters for the study objective and study description fields. Previously cut off words due to the migration was re-instated automatically.

Uploading files

The user is able to upload more than one file in the following fields: 

  • 'Composition of steering group and observers' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Conflicts of interest of investigators’ ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Procedure of results generation' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Protocol document' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Results tables' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Signed checklist for study protocols' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Signed code of conduct' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Signed code of conduct checklist' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Study report' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Study, other information' ('Add a Study' form).
  • 'Data characterisation details' ('Add a Data Source' form).
  • 'Governance details' ('Add a Data Source' form).
     
'Add a Study' form: 'Medical Conditions to be studied' field

The drop-down menu for this field displays more than a limited number of options. The missing values are displayed in the 'Study' record.

'Add a Study' form: 'Study drug International non-proprietary name (INN) or common name' field

The user can choose more than one value in this field. The missing values are displayed in the 'Study' record.

'Add a Study' form: 'Study timelines' field

The user can fill in the Actual dates in 'Study timelines'. To edit an Actual date previously validated, the user needs to raise a ticket in ServiceNow.

Linked studies displaying under an Institution

All studies linked to a specific Institution are displayed in the institution record. 

'Add a Study' form: Correct text labels in ‘Study timelines’

There was a discrepancy between the texts shown in the ‘View’ mode and ‘Edit’ mode (e.g., ‘Data collection’ field in ‘View’ mode and ‘Study start date’ field in ‘Edit’ mode).

Export the record as PDF for Draft records

The user can export the record page for records in ‘Draft’ state.

'Add a Study' form: Display issue with fields in section ‘Methodological aspects’

The fields ‘Scope of the study’, ‘If ‘other’, further details on the scope of the study’ and ‘Data collection methods’ only appeared when the user selected ‘Study type’ as ‘Non-interventional’, when in fact they should appear in every case.

'Add a Data Source' form: 'Data Holder'

Possibility to find the 'Data Holder' of the Data Source registered in the Catalogues by searching for the Institution name instead of having to scroll-down through the list.

Notification system, Subscription functionality

Visitors and users can subscribe to a study record and receive email notifications whenever the study is updated.

Save progress through steps in the record form     

The filled information while navigating through steps in the 'Add a Study' and 'Add a Data Source' forms are saved in case the user is disconnected.

Features in release pipeline

Integration with EMA corporate website
Estimated timeline: Q4 2024/Q1 2025

Catalogue study records will be visible in the relevant medicines overview page, on the EMA website, linking to summary of Risk Minimisation Plans, EPARs, Product Information, etc.

Summary of Catalogue record counts in the homepage
Estimated timeline: Q4 2024/Q1 2025

The Catalogues’ homepage will include a banner with counts of records per type (i.e., data sources, studies, institutions, networks) that are published.

Map of data sources and studies registered in the Catalogues
Estimated timeline: Q4 2024/Q1 2025

The landing pages of the Catalogue of data sources and the Catalogue of studies will include a map of the geographical spread of data sources and studies by country.

Metadata completeness score
Estimated timeline: 2025

The published data sources will have a “Metadata completeness score” field (available in the data source search page and in the individual records) to indicate the percentage of fields that have been filled out in a data source record. The completeness score refers to the number of metadata fields completed in the data source record and will not be intended as an indication of data quality.

Outdated records marked in the Catalogues
Estimated timeline: Q2 2025

Data sources that have not been updated in 2 years and institutions/networks that have not been updated in 5 years since their last update will be marked as “Outdated” with a dedicated tag that will appear in the record banner. A filter for outdated/current records in the filter options will also become available, to be able to limit the results by excluding outdated records.

Change authorship of a record by user/editor 
Estimated timeline: 2025

The user will be able to transfer the record ownership to another user in the authorship information at the end of the form using the username of the new owner.

Enable search function in “My Dashboard”
Estimated timeline: 2025

The user will be able to search within their records in the “My Dashboard” page.

New fields in the ‘Add a Data Source’ form 
Estimated timeline: 2025

The data source records will contain more detailed information on the type of data collected, more specifically focused on omics data (e.g. proteomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics).

Search data source in the ‘Add a Study’ form via the ‘Data source acronym’ field
Estimated timeline: 2025

In Step 3 (Data management) of the study form, the field ‘Data source(s)’ only searches for data sources via their full name. This will enable the search via the data source acronym.