Frequently Asked Questions

What is the funding model for the HSR Core?

The HSR Core is administered by the Program in Health Services Research in the Division of Public Health Sciences. Data acquisitions by the HSR Core are funded by the Wake Forest School of Medicine CTSI. HSR Core services are provided by the faculty and staff of the Program in Health Services Research on a fee-for-service basis.

What are the rates for Core services?

Faculty and staff services will be billed at an hourly rate. Services include data extraction, data processing, discussion of study design, statistical and econometric analyses, and writing. Hourly rates for the 2024 fiscal year are shown in the following table. These rates cover salary, fringe, and computing expenses. These rates do not include indirect costs. Rates will be adjusted annually, and projects will be charged the current rates in effect when work is performed.

We will evaluate rates annually, aligned with the fiscal year, and will change them if necessary. The CTSI will generate monthly bills.

What Core sources are available at no cost to me?

We do not charge for access to databases. However, depending on the database, there may be costs incurred to establishing formal access (i.e.,fees and staff time for amendment of data use agreement). We are happy to provide an initial free consultation to discuss the suitability of the databases for your needs.

How will I access the data?

Once the approval paperwork for your study is complete (IRB and data use agreement), you (and your approved staff) will be setup with access to a dedicated password-protected folder on a Wake ITS shared server. All the extracted raw data will be stored in this folder. All data processing and analyses have to be performed on the server, and the resulting data files stored in the dedicated folder. If our staff are assisting in the study ,they will have to be included in the IRB and data use approvals, and will then have access to the study folder.

How quickly can I access the data?

While some data will be available to you within a very short time frame, other data may not be available until an official request is made and formal approval is attained. Depending on the data source, this may take several months.

Does the Core assist with grant development?

The Core faculty and staff are available, at no cost, to assist in the development of grant applications, provided they have a collaborative role and salary support if the application were to be funded. We can assist with discussion of study design, choice of databases, grant writing and budgeting. We can assist in the development of preliminary case counts and summary findings using Core databases.

Out of mutual respect for our collaboration, please do not cut us from the budget after funding. Like most researchers, we much prefer conducting studies to writing the grants which pay for the studies. If we help to design a study which gets funded, then we have held up our end of the bargain. Cutting us out of the budget after a grant is funded deprives us of the most interesting part of our job, hurts us academically (n publications), and does not foster productive long-term relationships.

We are well aware of and understand that entire grant budgets get cut. If a grant gets cut by 20% then it would be reasonable for the Core to be cut by 20% but not reasonable for us to receive a disproportionately larger cut. Of course, we will have to discuss how budget cuts affect the work we can perform.

Does the Core assist with data acquisition?

The Core faculty and staff have considerable experience in the acquisition of a variety of claims and administrative data, including the processes involved in obtaining approvals and data use agreements. We can assist in the acquisition of new data specific to your needs. Charges will apply for this service.

What about authorship for our collaborations?

Authorship is completely independent of funding. If the Core faculty and staff make a contribution that warrants authorship, then we expect to be listed as an author(s). The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship is based on

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND Final approval of the version to be published; AND Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

View the full description of ICMJE guidelines.