NRDR Data Analysis and Publications Policy

The goal of the ACR^® National Radiology Data Registry (NRDR^®) is to develop evidence on the practice of radiology in order to improve the quality of patient care. One component of achieving this goal is to disseminate information on the status and changes in practice through careful research and publication in high-quality and high-impact venues.

ACR welcomes all requests for analysis using data from NRDR. Applications for data use will be accepted from a wide variety of requestors including registry participants, non-registry participants, industry and governmental organizations.

To ensure the dissemination of high-quality evidence and the stewardship of registry data, all NRDR research requests are reviewed by a registry specific Data Request Review Panel composed of members from the individual registry committees and NRDR staff and guided by the NRDR Steering Committee Chair.

Registry data are not provided for off-site analysis. For approved applications, an ACR data analyst works with the requestor(s) to fulfill the data request.
 

View the NRDR Data Analysis and Publications Policy

1. Before beginning a request, review the following:
   • The list of approved data requests  to ensure your request is not a duplication of work underway or completed.
   • The NRDR Data Analysis and Publications Policy to become aware of your responsibilities should your request be approved.
   • The relevant registry data dictionaries (listed below) to identify if registry data can potentially answer your research question. Note: Not all data elements have enough data for research purposes.
   • The frequency counts of registry elements using the Registry Data Element Report to determine if enough data are available to answer your research question. Note: This is a new report with data element counts for the individual registries being added on an ongoing basis.   
      
2. Complete the Data Request Form:
   • Download and complete the Data Request Form Template. This form captures the information required to submit a request via the web-based submission form.
   • Copy and paste the information from the completed Data Request Form Template into the web-based submission form .
   • Attach additional information, e.g., list of data elements from the data dictionary, table specifications, and sample tables, to the data request.
      
3. Once submitted you may:
   • Amend the NRDR Data Request.
   • Request a status update.
      

Submit NRDR Data Request now 

Persons requesting data will be notified about the approval status of their request within one to three months, depending on the complexity of the data request. Approved requests are prioritized across all registry data analysis requests, and an NRDR data analyst will notify you when work is about to begin on your request.

To accommodate data requests for abstract submissions to scientific meetings, the data analysis request form must be received no less than 90 days before the abstract submission deadline. This timeframe allows NRDR data analysts to perform a thorough analysis for all approved requests.