title: Design and implementation of the first nationwide, web-based Chinese Renal Data System (CNRDS).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In April 2010, with an endorsement from the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, the Chinese Society of Nephrology launched the first nationwide, web-based prospective renal data registration platform, the Chinese Renal Data System (CNRDS), to collect structured demographic, clinical, and laboratory data for dialysis cases, as well as to establish a kidney disease database for researchers and policy makers.
  
  
  METHODS
  The CNRDS program uses information technology to facilitate healthcare professionals to create a blood purification registry and to deliver an evidence-based care and education protocol tailored to chronic kidney disease, as well as online forum for communication between nephrologists. The online portal https://www.cnrds.net is implemented as a Java web application using an Apache Tomcat web server and a MySQL database. All data are stored in a central databank to establish a Chinese renal database for research and publication purposes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Currently, over 270,000 clinical cases, including general patient information, diagnostics, therapies, medications, and laboratory tests, have been registered in CNRDS by 3,669 healthcare institutions qualified for hemodialysis therapy. At the 2011 annual blood purification forum of the Chinese Society of Nephrology, the CNRDS 2010 annual report was reviewed and accepted by the society members and government representatives.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CNRDS is the first national, web-based application for collecting and managing electronic medical records of patients with dialysis in China. It provides both an easily accessible platform for nephrologists to store and organize their patient data and acts as a communication platform among participating doctors. Moreover, it is the largest database for treatment and patient care of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in China, which will be beneficial for scientific research and epidemiological investigations aimed at improving the quality of life of such patients. Furthermore, it is a model nationwide disease registry, which could potentially be used for other diseases.
authors.affiliation: Medical Systems Biology Research Center, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Haidian District, Beijing 100084, China. fengbo.xie@gmail.com
authors.forename: Fengbo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jinzhao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xuefeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xiangmei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D003195:Computer Communication Networks / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005568:Forms and Records Control / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D024382:Professional Role; D006435:Renal Dialysis / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012984:Software; D014584:User-Computer Interface