Northwest Screening and Cancer Outcomes Research Enterprise (NW-SCORE)
NW-SCORE is a unique partnership between the University of Washington (UW) Medicine and community radiology and pathology practices in the Pacific Northwest to aggregate de-identified breast imaging data with the goal of improving population-based screening outcomes. Overall, NW-SCORE will create a resource for big data research, including artificial intelligence research, that will influence regional and national screening policies and practices.
About
NW-SCORE obtains exam-level data for women undergoing breast imaging as part of their usual care with the ability to link to long-term cancer outcomes data from state cancer registries. De-identified, aggregated data is curated and managed by the UW Medicine’s Information Technology Services (ITS) team.
Annually, each participating community practice will receive an individualized quality of care report with their own practice screening performance metrics and comparison aggregate performance metrics from all other NW-SCORE practices/facilities combined. By providing aggregate performance data across all collaborators, each practitioner and practice can use the data for quality improvement purposes with anonymized, aggregate regional comparators. In return, the aggregated clinical and imaging data is used for innovating research projects that are meant to further improve outcomes in our communities. NW-SCORE has IRB approval from UW with appropriate data use agreements in place with each partner. All data transfers and management are handled by the UW ITS using extreme data security measures and infrastructure for regional network data management already in place.
Goals
- Conduct rigorous research to improve breast cancer screening and early detection and to reduce the burden of disease.
- Build a major data resource for observational studies involving breast imaging and cancer outcomes;
- Collaborate with other organizations to develop novel data linkages and conduct innovative research that will inform policy and practice decision-makers.
Acknowledgments
NW-SCORE is made possible through private foundation funds, NIH-sponsored research grants, and the UW Department of Radiology. We especially acknowledge the Kuni Foundation Innovation Award and the MG2 Foundation for their support of NW-SCORE efforts.