In the past, the Reviewing IRBs had to contact an IREx Administrator in order to edit an existing approval (e.g., add/correct an approval document). Reviewing IRB Liaisons are now able to do so at any time. When an approval is edited, an email will notify Relying HRPP Liaisons and study team personnel specifying the changes made. This feature makes it easier for Reviewing IRBs to correct information on IREx while also maintaining clear communications about changes.
Category Archives: Email Notifications
New Feature: Email Notifications for Updated Approvals
A new email notification is now sent when any existing approval – for the overall study or a participating site – is updated. For example, if additional documents are uploaded or exchanged, an email will notify the relying site’s HRPP and study team personnel of the revisions and the exact changes are detailed in a table. The notification will bring clarity to the email notifications and ensure sites are aware of updates or changes to their approval, as specified in section 5.9 of the SMART IRB Agreement, “Notification of IRB Decisions, Changes, Lapses in Approval.”
Updated Feature: Notifications when Local Considerations are Edited
After local considerations are completed, additional information or clarifications may be necessary from relying sites. IREx has always notified the sIRB and Study Manager when Local Considerations are updated. Now, this notification will include a detailed table outlining the changes that were made to each survey.
Updated Feature: Protocol Version
When creating a study or adding an amendment, a version name is required for the protocol. The “Protocol Version” field has been relabeled as “Protocol Date and/or Version” to clarify that users should enter the version number as entered on the protocol, which is often a date. In IREx trainings, users have also been encouraged to enter the amendment number in the summary of changes so that it is reflected on IREx and on email notifications sent out when changes are made.
Updated Feature: Tracking Changes to the Local Considerations HRP Survey
The Human Research Protections (HRP) Survey and PI Survey are key parts of capturing local considerations. When Participating Site HRPPs edit the PI or HRP Survey, an email notification is now sent to the Study Manager indicating what was changed on the survey. This feature is expected to help ensure Study Managers distinguish what was changed and ensure their requested changes were made appropriately.
Updated Feature: Amendment Notifications Now Include Change Summary
Study-wide and site-specific amendment email notifications have been updated to include the protocol version number (as entered by the Reviewing IRB), the automatically assigned “Revision #” when a study-wide amendment does not change the protocol, and the change summary for the amendment. That now means sIRBs and Study Managers are required to provide a description of changes when uploading site-specific amendments, as is already required for study-wide amendments. IREx recommends starting the change summary with the amendment number to help the site identify the change. This information is then embedded in the notification email to help sites and sIRBs communicate more clearly about amendments.
Updated Feature: Enhanced Study-wide and Site Amendment Email Notifications
To provide more information about amendment approvals uploaded to IREx, the study-wide and site-specific amendment approval notifications will now include the study protocol version number and the change summary, both of which are entered by the Reviewing IRB. TIPS:
- Minimize confusion for the study teams by ensuring the “protocol version” matches the version that is listed on the protocol.
- Increase consistency by including the amendment # from your IRB system at the beginning of the change summary.
Additionally, when uploading site-specific amendments, sIRB Liaisons or Study Managers will now be required to provide a description of the changes. TIP: We recommend starting the change summary with the amendment # to help the site identify the change.
New Feature: Added Study Short Name to Email Subject
IREx now includes a study short name in the subject line of each email to allow users to sort, group and prioritize their emails from IREx.
New Feature: Manually Notify HRRPs and Investigators About Your Study in IREx
IREx now allows Reviewing IRB Liaisons and IREx Study Managers to manually notify sites about their study in IREx instead of automatically emailing sites as soon as they are added to a study. Now sites can be notified at different times if they are being onboarded at different times.
When an IREx Study Managers lists a site on a study, they will enter a PI name and email. The site will appear on the Status Summary Tab. Click the “Notify HRPP” button to notify the site HRPP (and the PI identified) of the study in IREx. This does not give the PI access to IREx. The purpose of this email is to connect the investigator to their local HRPP.
New Feature: Downloadable Study-Specific Reliance Plan (SSRP)
As requested, the Study-Specific Reliance Plan (SSRP) is now included as a PDF in the confirmation of reliance email sent to the Reviewing IRB and Participating Site HRPP. Participating Site HRPPs can also download a PDF of the SSRP from the site-specific info button on a given study.