Phastar programmers are set to share their expertise at PHUSE EU Connect 2023 (5-8 November, ICC Birmingham). Increasing productivity through automation and improved employee mental health will be covered over three sessions delivered during the clinical data science conference.
Matthew Thompson, Phastar Associate Director of Programming and PHUSE Committee Member, commented: “It is a real achievement to present at PHUSE and it is fantastic for Phastar to showcase the work our programmers have done.
“We had two speakers at last year’s conference, and will have five at this year’s, along with two committee members, which is great representation for the company. Hopefully, this will continue and will only grow with more programmers from Phastar attending, speaking at, and supporting PHUSE.”
TFL Automation the CDISC 360 Way
Phastar Associate Director John McDade and Programmer III Alison MacNab will be presenting the results of their paper, TFL Automation the CDISC 360 Way, from 5pm to 5.30pm on Monday, November 6.
The paper explores a journey which started with an excel-driven process similar to CDISC 360 TFL proof of concept and evolved into a user interface providing ultimate flexibility for building Tables Figures and Listings (TFLs).
McDade and MacNab claim combining the modularised CDISC 360 approach with a modern web application can overcome some of the limitations with excel storage and allow users to manage required metadata much more efficiently.
Enriched TFL metadata can be used to write open code TFL programs capable of generating most Clinical Study Report (CSR) outputs.
Breaking TFL metadata into logical modules dramatically increases the flexibility in the workflow, going as far as the programming language of choice for the TFL programs.
While traditional programming practices lock vital metadata away within the code making it difficult to recycle and meaning automation is lost, keeping the metadata distinct from the codebase allows smart metadata management within and across studies.
Boosting productivity by looking after employee mental health
Senior Programmer I Jessica Shipley-Burgess is taking part in the Poster Presentation from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on Tuesday, November 7.
Her poster, When you’re helping create life-saving treatments, who’s looking after you?, explores how to improve employer and employee mental health to encourage a healthier, happier and more productive workforce.
Shipley-Burgess asserts working within the pharmaceutical industry can involve complex tasks. As we continue to push the boundaries of medicine it is vital employees and employers alike remember to look after their mental health.
She will share a few simple workplace changes to encourage colleagues to look after their physical and mental health, creating a happier, more productive workforce and, ultimately, better business and happier clients.
Using Python to automate the Reviewer’s Guide
Principal Programmers Matthew Metherell and Simon Purkess will be presenting on Using Python to automate the Reviewer’s Guide from 2pm to 2.30pm on Wednesday, November 8.
Writing Reviewer’s Guides can be a very time-consuming part of the submission process.
However, a lot of the information which needs to be included is already stored in SAS datasets, or other structured documents such as spreadsheets.
Python has the ideal package to update Word documents with this data automatically as it edits Word documents at an xml level.
For example, taking the Clinical Study Data Reviewer’s Guide (CSDRG) template as a starting point the Python-docx package can easily find a specific paragraph and enter specific text or a table.
In their presentation, Metherell and Purkess will demonstrate how users can simply and instantly populate the list of supplementary variables directly from the SUPPxx datasets, enter the P21 issues and responses, list all inclusion/exclusion criteria and automate a surprising number of other elements to greatly streamline the process of creating the Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) Reviewer’s Guide.
PHUSE Connect Dinner
Phastar will be exhibiting at booth number #11 in the expo hall throughout the conference.
It is also sponsoring the PHUSE Connect Dinner which takes place from 7pm to midnight in Hall 4 on Monday, November 6. Truly a night to remember, this renowned PHUSE social event gathers all attendees for an evening of celebration where they can enjoy a delicious dinner and dance the night away.
Find out more and register for PHUSE EU Connect 2023 here.
