Clinical research databases: getting from current state to best practice.

Clinical research databases reside at the foundation of health sciences, yet experts outside of information science often manage research data. Improper data management presents risks to the researcher, research community, research subjects, and other patients. Data management must aim to preserve or maximize the value of data. We created a checklist tool for researchers and/or data administrators to use when evaluating their database operations. The tool addresses both liabilities and the value of the data.