Clinical Data Management

Clinical Data Management (CDM) is an emerging domain of clinical research and concerns itself with the use of computer applications for managing trial data or information by storing them in database systems to support collection of data. In simpler terms, it is associated with the integration, collection and validation of the clinical trial data. Allied with the scope of Bioinformatics, this field is replete with a multitude of career opportunities that one can explore. Clinical data managers collect the patients’ data and then analyze the assimilated data using statistical analysis. Let’s discover what CDM entails, courses offered, top universities as well as the prospects you can avail.

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What is Clinical Data Management?

Often provided as a postgraduate program as it is a specialised field, Clinical Data Management involves an intensive study of data generation and how data is sourced into clinical trial database. It is an amalgamation of clinical research and data management and constitutes of different concepts like electronic CRFs, clinical site medical records, reconciled data, significant data analysis, amongst others. 

Subjects Covered in Clinical Data Management

Though the curriculum of a program in Clinical Data Management can vary as per the course as well as the institution, there are some key subjects under this discipline which are included in the study of Clinical Date Management. To help you understand what CDM comprises of, the following table lists down a few of the major sub-disciplines that are often incorporated under courses offered in this field:

CRF Design	Creating Reports and Transfer Data	Identifying and Managing Discrepancies
Data Entry & Remote Data Entry	Collecting Adverse Event Data	Introduction to Data Management
Data Management Plan	Tracking CRF Data	Introduction to Clinical Research, Roles and Responsibilities
Recreating Reports and Transferring Data	Clinical Research and Regulatory Submissions	Clinical Submissions
Planning for Clinical Trials	Electronic Data Capture	Managing Lab Data

Note: The above-mentioned list is only for indicative purposes. The course offerings might differ as per the program as well as the university.

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Eligibility Criteria

There are certain prerequisites that every candidate needs to fulfil in order to apply for an academic program. Similarly, in order to opt for a course in Clinical Data Management, every candidate needs to satisfy some specified eligibility criteria. Some of the general requirements include minimal formal schooling of 10+2 as well as an MBBS degree/BSc Biology/ a bachelor’s degree in the domain of Life Sciences, Computer Sciences, Pharmacy or some other related domain. Further, applicants also need to qualify English language proficiency tests like IELTS, TOEFL, etc.

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Courses for Clinical Data Management

• Advanced Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Data Management
• Executive Diploma in Clinical Data Management (CDM)
• PG Diploma in Clinical Research and Data Management
• PGD Clinical Studies Data Management and Medical Writing
• Clinical Data Management Certification Programme
• Certificate Course for Clinical Data Management
• Online Clinical Data Management Courses
• Certificate in Clinical Research and Clinical Data Management

Roles and Responsibilities in Clinical Data Management

• They collect data from a variety of medical research projects, such as clinical and pharmaceutical trials
• They screen data, summarize, transcribe and code the collected data
• Consult with other employees to solve operational or data problems
• Work on data entry, transcription, coding, and collating searches
• Make project management decisions and validate clinical trial data based on project-specific guidelines.
• Manage clinical trials through review, computerization, cleaning, and auditing of clinical data 
• They manage databases in compliance with standard operating procedures, client guidelines, and regulatory agency guidelines.
• Work in drug development process and evaluation of the accurate drugs
• Implement strategy for data cleaning and the design and programming of clinical databases.

Top Universities in the World

As Clinical Data Management is more of a specialised and emerging discipline, there are an array of institutions across the globe that have started offering a multitude of programs in this field. To help you further in your research, we have compiled a list of major universities that you must consider while applying for a program in this field: 

Universities QS World Ranking 2023
Keiser University –
Northwestern University 32
University of Brighton 801-1000
City, University of London 355
Indiana University  339
University of Washington 80
Stanford University 3
University of Missouri 511 – 520
Northcentral University –
Xavier University (Ohio) –

Must Read: Clinical Research Courses

Top Universities in India 

• ICRI – Jagannath University, Delhi
• ISBM University
• ICRI Bangalore
• Apeejay Stya University
• ICRI- ZEE Himgiri University
• People’s University, Bhopal

Career Prospects

For the young individuals wanting to pursue this new springing field of clinical data management, there are a plethora of career prospects available in different sectors. Moreover, the pharmaceutical industry is in dire demand of specialised experts with the knowledge of efficient data management for medical purposes. Further, aspirants can also choose to work in the arena of research and development to build exciting technological innovations for the medical industry. Some of the major job profiles that one can consider in this field are:

Job Profile Avg. Salary
Clinical Data Manager 4.8 Lakh
Clinical Data Coordinator 4.1 Lakh
Data Validation Associate 3.0 Lakh
Data Manager 3.7 Lakh
Medical Coder 3.7 Lakh
Database Programmer 4.5 Lakh
Quality Assurance Associate 4.0 Lakh

Average Salary 

Professionals with Clinical Data Management course can make anywhere between INR 3 Lakh to INR 11 lakhs in India. The highest salary of a Clinical Data Manager is ₹11,22,503 per annum and the lowest salary for a Clinical Data Manager in India is ₹3,16,980 per annum.

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Interview Questions for CDM Roles

• Have you had GCP training or formal CRA training through an employer or accredited course?
• Do you have experience with the following therapeutic areas: Cardiovascular, CNS, Oncology, Diabetes, HIV, etc.? 
• What is a Placebo?
• What is a Patient File? What Information Does It Contain?
• Define the Different Phases of Clinical Trials
• What Causes the Different Phases of Trials to Fail?
• What Does the Declaration of Helsinki State?
• Describe the Process of Discrepancy Resolution

Also Read: Career in Bioinformatics

Hence, we hope that this blog has helped you understand what Clinical Data Management as well as the varied prospects it is filled with. If you are planning to establish your career in this specialised domain and don’t know which course to opt for, sign up for a 30-minute free career counselling session with our experienced counsellors at Leverage Edu and we will help you find a suitable program and university as well as throughout the admission process to ensure that you get successfully shortlisted.