QuesGen Systems works personally with investigators to develop custom applications for managing clinical research data. QuesGen is a web-based, hosted application that enables study teams to collect, store, update, monitor and query research data with ease, improving the quality of data collected, decreasing data entry time, and allowing researchers to effortlessly track a study’s progress in real-time.
Product Vision: In our initial stages, and as we worked with various investigators, we realized that they all had a lot of requirements in common, even though the focus of their studies were very different. Each had basic needs: strong security, an easily-accessed audit trail, roles-based permissions, and standard tables and forms for patient, exam and medication data. Accessibility via the Internet was either a requirement or a strong advantage. Also, the investigators really wanted to understand the data model and how the variables were structured. It was with this vision that we began building the product that we have today. Our specialized team of developers continue to work along side investigators to produce the product that we have today.
Typical Projects: Most of our projects run for several years, and typically track the outcomes of several thousand subjects. We have worked on observational studies, quality improvement projects (same discipline as a research study of fixed duration, but typically on-going) and clinical trials of varying complexity.
When we began looking at different tools for web-based development, our target was to build a Software as a Service (SaaS) product that could be customized and deployed quickly, reliably and securely.
Software as a Service: Software development is increasingly moving toward a Software-as-a-Service (or SaaS) approach. SaaS means that the software is delivered over the Internet and used on a subscription basis. You don't need to worry about purchasing and installing software, setting up and managing a server and ensuring that everything is secure. Using the SaaS model, you pay for your software monthly, which includes all support and operations.
For more information about SaaS Click Here for the Wikipedia entry.
Product Structure: After looking at many different architectures, we selected a server architecture based on LAMP which stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. We considered other popular architectures, including Microsoft and SQLServer, Java, Oracle and others. We have been exceptionally pleased with our choice and the usage of the environment that we selected several years ago has grown significantly.
Talking about technical platforms with systems people is a lot like talking about religion or politics. You'll find many differing opinions. Suffice it to say that we are very pleased with the direction that we've selected.
For more about the LAMP architecture (this is really not necessary unless you're really interested) Click Here
For more about our co-location facility at 365 Main, Click Here