The CFAR Network of Integrated Clinical Systems (CNICS) project is the first electronic medical records-based resource network poised to integrate clinical data from the large and diverse population of HIV-infected persons in the modern HAART era who are receiving care at one of the US-funded Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) sites.

As a clinic-based research network, CNICS directly reflects the outcomes of clinical decisions and management options made daily in the care of HIV infected individuals. Unlike data collected in structured interviews or through retrospective medical record review, CNICS captures a broader range of information associated with the rapidly changing course of HIV disease management through collection of data at the point-of-care. A single, fully integrated database links each patient record to a diverse collection of clinical, behavioral, and biological data. The flexibility of this consortium enables CNICS to address scientific questions that cannot be answered through any other collaborative cohorts.  Each CNICS site utilizes a point-of-care electronic health record (EHR) system to organize, record, and plan for the care of all HIV+ patients, including those who would not typically be eligible for clinical trials or more traditional, selective HIV cohorts.  CNICS capitalizes upon these existing EHR systems, which at most sites have captured clinical data since 1995, and combine them into a single research enterprise.  Funded by an R24 infrastructure award in 2006, CNICS has evolved to become a fully mature platform that can support translational, clinical, and behavioral research projects from any investigator who desires to use the platform as part of their funded research projects or as part of a pilot project to gain further research support.

For more information, please check the CNICS website.