Adjudication is a workflow process in which two (or more) independent people (or teams) make a determination about diagnoses given certain data and criteria. Each team of adjudicators has access to the same data, but can not see the determinations made by others adjudicators until all determinations are complete.
This topic covers the process of initiating a new adjudication case, performed by a person with the
Adjudication Lab Personnel role. The other functions performed by that role are covered in
Monitor Adjudication.
Several
configuration steps must first be completed by the folder administrator, including defining the file name prefix, permitted columns in the case data file, and assignment of adjudicators and other roles in the process.
Upload an Adjudication Case
Click the
Upload tab to see the
Upload Wizard web part for uploading an adjudication case. This topic includes an example case for use in learning how the process works.
Data required for adjudication may include:
- Data from the following assays kits: Elisa, DNA PCR, RNA PCR, Multispot, Western Blot, Open Discretionary, BioRad Geenius assay, HIV-1 Total Nucleic Acid assay
- All assay data for these kits will be uploaded as part of one spreadsheet (one row per participant/visit/assay).
- Additional data can be attached to a case.
- If a PTID has multiple dates where adjudication is needed, all data will be viewable in one case, with data separated by visit.
- If a PTID has multiple uploads for the same date, the case creator will be prompted whether to replace the existing data, append the new data, or create a new case. When re-uploading a case, the case filename is case-insensitive (i.e. vtn703_123456782_01Aug2015.txt will be an update for VTN703_123456782_01Aug2015.txt).
The case file must match the filename prefix constraints set by the folder administrator, and all columns to be used must first be
added to the assay results table. Every assay kit referenced must also first be
added to the Supported Assay Kits table by the administrator.
Step 1: Upload Adjudication Data File
- Click Browse and select the adjudication data file to upload. You can download and use this example for demonstration purposes: VTN703_123456780_01Aug2015.txt
- Rename the file if your folder is configured to require a different prefix.
- The number of rows of data imported will be displayed.
- If the case requires evaluation of data from multiple dates, all data will be included in the same case, separated by visit.
- Click Next.
Step 2: Adjudication Case Creation
Before you can complete this step, the folder administrator must already have
assigned the appropriate number of adjudicators to teams.
- Enter a case comment as appropriate.
- Click Next.
Step 3: Upload Additional Information
- Optionally add additional information to the case.
Step 4: Summary of Case Details
The final wizard screen shows the case details for your review. Confirm accuracy and click
Finish.
The
Adjudication Review page shows summary information and result data for use in the adjudication process. Scroll down to see the sections which will later contain the
Adjudication Determinations for the case. The adjudicators are listed for each team by userID for your reference.
Uploaded File Storage
When a case is initiated or modified, the original file that was uploaded is stored in the database for administrators to access if necessary. The
CaseDocuments can be accessed via the
Schema Browser and includes:
- documentName
- document: File contents. This is a custom display column allowing the administrator to download the original file.
- caseId
- rowId
- container
- created (date)
- createdBy
- modified (date)
- modifiedBy
Next Step: Adjudication
The adjudicators can now access the folder, review case information you provided and make determinations via an
Adjudication tab that Lab Personnel cannot access. See
Make an Adjudication Determination for the process they follow.
You and other lab personnel monitor the progress of this and other cases as described in
Monitor Adjudication.
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