DFUG 2021 – Big Ideas From Our Vibrant User Community

Last week on September 15 and 16, we held our 26th DFUG meeting. This was also the first virtual DFUG. I did not realize how much I had missed seeing our user group since we were last together in Fall 2019. Wow, it was great to see everyone again, plus many new names and faces. This is the most well-attended DFUG in history. 

While the Zoom faces were small, the ideas were big. With the meeting theme of hybrid and decentralized clinical trials we enjoyed presentations from: 

• Lisa Ondrejcek, President at DFnet
• Darryl Pahl, CEO at DFnet 
• Eric Bosch, Director of Software Development at DFnet 
• Angela Williams, Clinical Data Manager at DFnet 
• Busisiwe Mbali Mpila, Clinical Data Manager at DFnet 
• Amnat Khamsiriwatchara, Director at Biophics
• Martin Renters, Principal Consultant at teckelworks
• Daphna McGilchrist, Manager, Clinical Data Management at Everest Clinical Research
• Ivan Pessotto, Senior Director, Clinical Data Management at Everest Clinical Research
• Brady Robinson, Clinical Research Coordinator and Project Manager at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, University of British Columbia
• Masud Rana, Biostatistician at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, University of British Columbia
• Jonas Abersbach, IT Manager at the Centre for Cardiovascular Innovation, University of British Columbia
• Rebeca Sanz Barriuso, Sales & Marketing Manager at DFnet
• James Moore Software Developer, Project Team Lead at DFnet
• Richard Veerman, Director, Analytical Services at Avania
• Michael Holdsworth, Senior Data Analyst / Database Programmer at NIH
• Phil Kirsch, Director of Quality at DFnet
• Michael Duvenhage, Project Manager at NIH
• Laura Joldersma, Clinical Data Management Specialist at DFnet 
• Samer Chaudhary, Senior Software Developer at DFnet

DFUG 2021 was an intense two days of great content, including these top takeaways:

• From Laura, Michael H, Richard, and Martin, we heard about hybrid study design and conduct all driven by a single DFdiscover study setup.
• Presentations from Ivan and Daphna, Amnat and Brady revealed the breadth of time zone challenges efficiently handled in their very large trials.
• Michael D, Angela, Busi and Lisa shared presentations confirming that more and more trials are employing BYOD for ePRO data collection and electronic informed consent.
• Tools for collection (James) and techniques for decentralized monitoring of supporting documentation, including 1000s of redacted diagnostic images (Masud) were shared with the community.
• Jonas and Phil reminded us of the need for ongoing validation and security vigilance in the conduct of our trials.
• Samer gave an extensive summary of the important features in the latest DFdiscover releases.

DFUG 2021 presentation recordings are now available. Watch DFUG 2021 recordings.