Clinical trial metrics are data points that provide insight into operational performance. They are powerful tools for assessing progress, decision-making, and measuring the strength of evidence used in clinical trials.
The Minimum Data Set (MDS) is a resource created to support the reporting requirements of Research Offices (ROs), Clinical Trial Units (CTUs) and other departments that run clinical trials within health settings or academic institutions. Along with the Metrics and you booklet, the table below can be used to provide clinical trial benchmarks and help to determine reporting requirements, including in relation to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care's (ACSQHC) National Clinical Trials Governance Framework (NCTGF) and the National Aggregate Statistics (NAS).
This project is part of a larger program of work de-mystifying the National Clinical Trials Governance Framework. A partner resource, The Implementation Workbook by Melbourne Academic Centre for Health (MACH), can also be accessed using the button below.
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Note: additional data may be collected by your state alongside the metrics below.
A glossary of search terms is available here.
Depending on “who” requires the metrics, these are identified as:
NCTGF Required – These are metrics mandated by the NCTGF.
NAS Mandatory – The National Aggregate Statistics (NAS) metrics are required operational metrics for clinical trials in Australian public health institutions, maintained by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
NCTGF Suggested – These are metrics suggested by the NCTGF or mentioned in Operational Metrics Tool. These are considered as useful relative to project goals - for instance, to identify where process improvements can be made or resource allocations can be changed; to establish performance benchmarks; and/or to effectively manage workload across teams.
CTU Improvement – These are metrics considered important when running a Clinical Trials Unit. These are helpful for business and quality improvements.
Cancer Census Data – These are metrics collected on behalf of state and territory governments. They are used to support the evaluation of the state-based Cancer Plan(s), and/or informing national cancer programs. Data requests may be available to eternal organisations.
Contributory or Identifier – These are data points that contribute to other metrics and are not metrics in their own right. An example is the date of an HREC submission, or an HREC number.
Teletrials MDS - These are metrics with specific relevance to Teletrials. Collecting these metrics can assist in the operational and strategic running of teletrials.
Use the search bar and drop-down menus to filter results.
Study or Site level – Study-level metrics are collected about the study as a whole, while site level metrics are related to the activity of the study at a particular site.
Who reports the data – RO – Research Office, CTU – Clinical Trial Unit
