August 30, 2019

At the Animal User Group meeting held on August 19, 2019, the UVMClick-IACUC implementation team held a demonstration of the new system.

Approximately 30 PIs and research staff attended the session.  We provided an overview of the system’s infrastructure, approximate timeline for the rollout and highlighted several advantages.  The system will allow us to take advantage of several regulatory reduction items, many of which investigators have requested in the past.

 

Project Timeline

Implementation activities began this past June and the team will continue to prepare and test the system throughout the fall. The goal is to begin training the research community in December with an anticipated go-live date in January. As time draws near, we will send notifications to alert you about any upcoming educational sessions and instructions for registering to attend.

UVMClick-IACUC Advantages

Standard Procedure and Substance Libraries – the UVMClick system has functionality which supports a library of pre-approved standard procedures and substances.  These standard items can be referenced in your protocols as needed, streamlining both protocol creation and review processes. The implementation team has begun building the libraries so that when the system goes live, we will have as many as possible approved and available for use. Creation of new standard procedures and substances after go-live will be an ongoing process.  If you have a specific procedure that you would like us to add to the library before go-live, please contact Dr. Ruth and copy Aubrie Clas. 

One Protocol to Many Funding Sources – We are taking advantage of UVMClick’s functionality to support a “one protocol to many grants” concept. We continue to reach out to colleagues at other institutions who use this model as we determine best practices in this regard.  We will create guidance materials for researchers who wish to do this and will keep you updated as we get closer to go-live. We welcome input from the research community with your thoughts on the best way to combine protocols. Please feel free to email us at IACUC@uvm.edu.

Regulatory Burden Reduction

In May we announced that we removed the required six year renewals and annual continuing reviews for non-USDA covered species and non-DOD funded projects. In addition to these reductions, we have identified the following areas where we can cut administrative burden.

  • In UVMClick we will no longer track USDA pain categories for non-USDA covered species. This is not a requirement of our regulators or accreditors and UVMClick allows for the dual tracking of both USDA vs. non-USDA species within in the system. All non-USDA covered species under one project will be tracked at the highest pain level anticipated for that project.
  • The requirement to submit Animal Handler Occupational Health and Safety Questionnaire annually has been reduced to a triennial requirement.   This decision was made in conjunction with Risk Management and Safety (RMS) representatives.  This change does not preclude UVM research staff from submitting more often if the need arises.

In addition, RMS has reduced the OSHA Respirator Questionnaire to a triennial requirement so that it aligns with the occupational health form requirements. Please note that other elements required for enrollment in the respiratory protection program still apply.

Please contact RMS at ohealth@uvm.edu with questions and visit their Forms Library for questionnaire templates.