Clinical Research Support (CRS) is a critical component of Hayes client services that provides individual assistance to clients with questions related to Hayes health technology assessments and information. CRS is provided by a team of registered nurses with clinical experience, advanced research training, and expertise in biomedical information who are adept at helping Hayes clients find the information that they need. Two levels of support are offered through the CRS team: Core CRS and Custom Support.

Core CRS is an integral part of every Hayes subscription and provides the best available information to clients in order to directly answer their questions. Clients can obtain help in interpreting reports in the Hayes Knowledge Center and can receive complimentary, focused research for questions regarding technologies that are related to those currently addressed in the Knowledge Center.

Custom Support is a premium service that gives clients access to a wide variety of technology research products and educational programs designed to address their specific business needs. Hayes analysts and the CRS nurses work with clients to determine the resources, information, and format that will most appropriately answer their questions regarding health technologies. Examples of Custom Support include ad hoc research, comparative effectiveness reviews, webinars, on-site workshops, and consulting projects.

Sample Clinical Research Support Questions (includes both Core and Custom requests):

• Can you please send us any supporting documentation for minimally invasive colectomy using the “GelPort System” from Applied Medical?
• I would like more information about the payment issues and cost analysis of paliperidone palmitate (Invega), particularly in reference to initiation in an inpatient setting.
• I would like to know if there are any studies that compare the clinical efficacy of knee-length sequential compression device (SCD) sleeves vs. thigh-length SCD sleeves.
• We currently provide the “Essure procedure” but we have physicians interested in “Adiana”. Can you provide us with clinical data supporting the use of Adiana by Hologic?
• Does your organization have any financial return on investment (ROI) information related to utilization of pneumatic tube transport and hospital function/length of stay/costs?
• We are considering the purchase of a 320-Slice CT scanner for our new emergency department. Can you find any peer-reviewed articles, results of clinical studies, case reports, or comparative studies of 320-slice vs. 256- slice, etc?
• Can you help me find information comparing the rates of surgical site infections associated with robotic procedures (robot, laparoscopic, minimally invasive) vs. non-robotic procedures (traditional, open procedures)?
• I need information about integrated MRI (iMRI) operating room suites for neurological indications, such as removal of tumors.
• Is there any evidence to support the use of cranberry supplements (pills) for prevention of urinary tract infection (UTI) in critically ill, catheterized patients?
• I am looking for any literature comparing intravenous power ports vs. regular implantable ports, especially in terms of which patients should use which type of port, which brands are the best, etc.
• We are looking at both ChloraPrep and Chlorascrub for blood donor site preparation. Could you provide us with information comparing them for this indication?
• When an internal defibrillator device is replaced with a different brand of defibrillator, is it necessary to replace the existing functioning lead wires with those that “match” the brand of the new defibrillator?