{"id":87373,"date":"2025-12-10T08:34:05","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=87373"},"modified":"2025-12-10T08:34:05","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:34:05","slug":"connect-with-research-opportunities-within-uchealth-patient-portal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/connect-with-research-opportunities-within-uchealth-patient-portal\/","title":{"rendered":"Learn about research opportunities within your UCHealth patient portal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Nikiah
Nikiah Nudell, left, research scientist at UCHealth in northern Colorado, and Kevin Labus, a research scientist at Colorado State University, test a CSU-invented device on a research volunteer\u2019s leg during a study on tibia fractures. The volunteer, William Snodgrass, joined the study after he fractured his tibia in an airplane crash. Photo by Joel Blocker, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Every day, patients across Colorado use the UCHealth app to manage appointments, view test results and message their doctors. Now, they can also use the app to volunteer for cutting-edge clinical trials and help medical experts as they work to discover new treatments, better understand diseases, advance medical knowledge and speed up innovations in health care.<\/p>\n

With just a few taps in the UCHealth app, patients now can explore research studies, express interest \u2014 and, if eligible \u2014 contribute to discoveries that can lead to more personalized treatments and better care for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a person participates in research, they are volunteering themselves and their time \u2014 a generous gift, to say the least,\u201d said Kirsten Raehal, senior project manager with UCHealth Research Administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Raehal has a doctorate in philosophy in biomedical sciences.<\/p>\n

Volunteers can step up to participate in a full array of opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are all types of research, from looking at new treatments and interventions for diseases that are observational and based on patient outcomes, to the advancement of scientific knowledge that\u2019s required to create new therapies and devices,\u201d Raehal said.<\/p>\n

Connecting to research and studies via My Health Connection<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Currently, UCHealth experts are conducting more than 2,300 studies. Many take place in the Denver area, close to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>, and the hub of the academic medical center. But volunteers can also participate in more than 200 studies taking place in other regions, including northern and southern Colorado, with a handful in Pueblo.<\/p>\n

In some cases, a patient undergoing treatment may find out about study and trial opportunities from their doctor, Raehal said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pre-existing treatment relationship helps researchers connect with people who qualify for their study,” she said. Still, it ignores the thousands of others who may qualify and be interested in advancing medicine, whether for personal reasons or for the overall good.<\/p>\n

In some cases, a doctor may flag a patient’s account for a specific study, and the research team will send that patient a message through My Health Connection<\/a>. The patient can then easily reply, \u201cI\u2019m interested\u201d or \u201cNo thank you,\u201d with a single click.<\/p>\n

But with the newly added tool options within My Health Connection, patients now can be proactive in finding research studies and trials that interest them.<\/p>\n

How to get started: Set your study \u2018profile\u2019 within your My Health Connection account<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Within your My Health Connection account, you can set up a research profile that highlights your research interests, such as women\u2019s health, sleep or nutrition. If study opportunities within those categories become available, the research team can then securely message you about potential studies. Patients can respond if they\u2019re interested, and at that point \u2014 and only at that point \u2014 will the research team be able to review the patient\u2019s protected health information relevant to the study in question.<\/p>\n

Here is how to set up your research profile in My Health Connection:<\/strong><\/h2>\n