TriNetX

TriNetX is a web-based tool for research patient cohort discovery that also enables researchers to analyze data from UR Medicine electronic medical records as well as from a broader research network of healthcare organizations.

Access TriNetX

Features

Through TriNetX, users can search for patients who meet specified criteria, without prior Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. Data are presented as unique patient counts. Such a search can help researchers determine whether enough potential patients are available to properly conduct a research study. With IRB approval, users can request patient-level data using the UR CTSI Informatics Service Request form. TriNetX also offers charting for data visualizations and provides analytical tools to compare patient cohorts for real-word data studies.

The TriNetX Research Network is a growing network that harmonizes electronic medical record and other real-world data sources from participating healthcare organizations. Researchers can explore structured, de-identified patient facts within populations based on user-entered, custom criteria, on a user-friendly analytics platform.

A Trial Connect feature allows clinical research organizations and industry sponsors to determine patient counts and connect with the UR CTSI Office of Clinical Research for clinical trial site invitations.

Can be used for many studies such as:

• Real World Evidence studies
• COVID-19 studies

Get Started

TriNetX Access Request

1. Complete online self-paced training "TriNetX 101 - Basic Functionality Course" in MyPath (for URMC employees) or Blackboard (for Med center graduate students only).
   This training is prerequisite to have access to TriNetX.
2. Complete the TriNetX Access Request Form. The CTSI informatics team will review and setup your TriNetX account access within 2~3 business day.

TriNetX Access Instructions

1. Go to TriNetX.
2. Enter your URMC email address in the email field. The password field will be automatically hidden when a valid URMC email is entered.
3. Click “Login”, and you will be brought to "Sign in with your username and password" page.
4. Enter your URMC Active Directory Credentials
   1. Your username is the one you use to login to your office computer. It is not your email address.
   2. Your password is what you use to check your URMC email.
5. Choose “URMC Active Directory” from the Domain drop-down list, and click “Sign In”.
6. You will be brought into your TriNetX study page.
7. If you login from a computer that is not on URMC network, Duo Authentication will kick in and asks for your approval on this login request from your registered mobile device. Upon successful login, the computer is recorded as a trusted device and you will not need to go through the Duo Authentication again, unless there is no active login from that computer in 60 days.
8. Your account will be automatically locked after 5 consecutive failed login attempts. Please contact CTSI Informatics for support if this happens.

Request Data from the TriNetX Research Network:

1. Develop a query on the Research Network that identifies the project population. Once your query is final, click the yellow button marked “Request Dataset” inside the Query History column on the right hand side, and follow the prompts.
2. Create a UR CTSI Informatics Service Request for a Research Network dataset and select the ‘TriNetX Research Dataset Request’ option.
3. A representative from UR CTSI Informatics will contact you with additional information and support.

Get Training

Online self-paced training

1. Basic TriNetX training modules are available via MyPath (mandatory to get account setup) and the online Training Center on the TriNetX website. These modules offer basic training, recorded workshops, and webinars that walk through the features of TriNetX. Both trainings are close-captioned.
2. Advanced TriNetX training modules on TriNetX Research & Analytics, the new Incidence & Prevalence features on TriNetX Analytics, and on the TriNetX Research Network are available at the online Training Center on the TriNetX website.

​Live training

1. Webinars – A schedule of upcoming overviews to the three main TriNetX features available to URMC researchers: Basic Functionality, TriNetX Analytics, and TriNetX Research Network are available on the TriNetX Training Center website.
2. Department Show-n-Tell – An on-demand demo (between 15-30 minutes) to departments or groups (Fellows, Residents, New Faculty, etc) covering general topics. For scheduling, email CTSI Informatics
3. Advanced querying workshops – The TriNetX Advanced Querying Workshop is a 90-minute monthly class that will explore advanced querying concepts such as rare diseases, managing and understanding coding systems to find terms, and using the event and temporal features. Participants should have a basic understanding of the TriNetX interface, and be able to build simple queries. Laptops are recommended but not required. These workshops are temporarily paused during the COVID pandemic.

Accessible training for Deaf scientists

Both the Basic and Advanced TriNetX trainings available on MyPath or Blackboard are closed captioned. If you see a training on the TriNetX website that you would like closed captioned, please email CTSI Informatics. Two additional trainings are available with closed captioning (sign onto Blackboard with your NETID):

• New User Training: an additional training that closely reviews advanced queries, including time dependent queries i.e. querying for patients being prescribed a medication one year before a diagnosis (This can be substituted for the Advanced TriNetX training.)
• Introduction to Community: an online platform that connects TriNetX users across the globe to answer questions and collaborate (The first 17 minutes of the video describes the platform while the remainder describes a contest that has since ended.)

Resources

TriNetX provides comprehensive resources, training materials, and a community forum in its Help Center. You can access these resources by clicking the “Help” at the top-right corner of the webpage when you log into your TriNetX account, and choosing the resource link in the pull-down menu.

Querying COVID-19 labs and diagnose in TriNetX - instructions developed by UR CTSI specific for querying diagnoses and labs related to COVID19

For any questions or if you need assistance, please email the Research Help Desk.

Contact

You can reach out to CTSI_Informatics@urmc.rochester.edu if you have questions.

FAQs

Are dates in TriNetX obfuscated (e.g. shifted, masked, etc.)?

No. Dates are not obfuscated in TriNetX.

Is patient count obfuscated when running a query in TriNetX?

Yes, patient count is obfuscated in two ways:

1. Patient count is rounded up to the nearest 10 for all cohort sizes.
2. When a query returns a single count (<10), a count of 10 will be reported, and you won’t be able to explore this cohort. You will get this message: “The cohort size is too small so detailed information cannot be displayed.”

Can patients be identified in TriNetX?

No. Only patient counts are returned.

Can patient-level data be obtained using TriNetX?

Yes. To get identifiable data, Limited Data Sets, or De-Identified data for your patient cohort for IRB approved studies or other qualified studies, please contact the CTSI Informatics team.

TriNetX doesn’t seem to work on Internet Explorer. When I attempt to access the login page I get a white screen. What can I do?

Internet Explorer is supported by TriNetX. If your Internet Explorer browser is set to Protected Mode, it must be disabled in Internet Explorer's security settings.

To disable Protected Mode:

1. In the top right-hand corner of IE, click on the gear icon
2. From the drop-down menu, select Internet Options
3. Select "Security" from the top menu
4. Uncheck the box "Enable Protected Mode"
5. Click “OK”

Why are counts so low for queries concerning newborn data?

As a privacy protection feature, TriNetX makes ALL clinical facts (e.g., diagnosis, procedure, etc.) that were within 30 days from patient date of birth not queryable. For example, if a patient was born 1/1/16 and the fact occurred on 1/20/16, it would not be queryable on TriNetX’s web interface.

Can I query patients by hospitals and/or departments?

TriNetX now offers users a way to view query results by UR Medicine hospitals and department. Under the “Healthcare Organizations (HCOs)” tab in the TriNetX interface, after clicking “Run”, a table will display a breakdown of the patients by UR Medicine hospital and then department from which they received health care. Like all TriNetX results, counts are rounded up to the nearest ten to protect patient identities. Please note, this summary view is by functional department, not physical location.