Adjudication is a workflow process in which two (or more) independent people (or teams) make a determination about diagnoses given certain data and criteria. Each team of adjudicators has access to the same data, but can not see the determinations made by others adjudicators until all determinations are complete.

This topic covers the process of initiating a new adjudication case, performed by a person with the Adjudication Lab Personnel role. The other functions performed by that role are covered in Monitor Adjudication.

Several configuration steps must first be completed by the folder administrator, including defining the file name prefix, permitted columns in the case data file, and assignment of adjudicators and other roles in the process.

Upload an Adjudication Case

Click the Upload tab to see the Upload Wizard web part for uploading an adjudication case. This topic includes an example case for use in learning how the process works.

Data required for adjudication may include:

• Data from the following assays kits: Elisa, DNA PCR, RNA PCR, Multispot, Western Blot, Open Discretionary, BioRad Geenius assay, HIV-1 Total Nucleic Acid assay
• All assay data for these kits will be uploaded as part of one spreadsheet (one row per participant/visit/assay).
• Additional data can be attached to a case.
• If a PTID has multiple dates where adjudication is needed, all data will be viewable in one case, with data separated by visit.
• If a PTID has multiple uploads for the same date, the case creator will be prompted whether to replace the existing data, append the new data, or create a new case. When re-uploading a case, the case filename is case-insensitive (i.e. vtn703_123456782_01Aug2015.txt will be an update for VTN703_123456782_01Aug2015.txt).

The case file must match the filename prefix constraints set by the folder administrator, and all columns to be used must first be added to the assay results table. Every assay kit referenced must also first be added to the Supported Assay Kits table by the administrator.

Step 1: Upload Adjudication Data File

Step 2: Adjudication Case Creation

Before you can complete this step, the folder administrator must already have assigned the appropriate number of adjudicators to teams.

Step 3: Upload Additional Information

Step 4: Summary of Case Details

The final wizard screen shows the case details for your review. Confirm accuracy and click Finish.

The Adjudication Review page shows summary information and result data for use in the adjudication process. Scroll down to see the sections which will later contain the Adjudication Determinations for the case. The adjudicators are listed for each team by userID for your reference.

Uploaded File Storage

When a case is initiated or modified, the original file that was uploaded is stored in the database for administrators to access if necessary. The CaseDocuments can be accessed via the Schema Browser and includes:

• documentName
• document: File contents. This is a custom display column allowing the administrator to download the original file.
• caseId
• rowId
• container
• created (date)
• createdBy
• modified (date)
• modifiedBy

Next Step: Adjudication

The adjudicators can now access the folder, review case information you provided and make determinations via an Adjudication tab that Lab Personnel cannot access. See Make an Adjudication Determination for the process they follow.

You and other lab personnel monitor the progress of this and other cases as described in Monitor Adjudication.

Related Topics

• Role Guide: Adjudication Lab Personnel
• Monitor Adjudication
• Update Case Data