Creating Electronic Case Report Forms (eCRFs)

This guide walks you through designing and publishing a new Electronic Case Report Form (eCRF) in Frappe and viewing it in the clinical study application.

Target Audience

Role	Access Level
Administrator	Full access to Frappe and CRF design

Prerequisites

• Access to your Frappe instance
• Administrator credentials
• Access to the clinical study application

---

Step 1: Login to Frappe

1. Navigate to {your-frappe-host}/login
2. Enter your credentials

---

Step 2: Navigate to DocType List

Go to the DocType list in the Healthcare module:

{your-frappe-host}/app/doctype?module=Healthcare

---

Step 3: Create a New CRF Form

1. Click Add DocType
2. Name your form with the prefix CRF_FORM_
   • Example: CRF_FORM_MICRONUTRIENTS_ANTIOXIDANTS

Naming Convention

Always prefix your CRF forms with CRF_FORM_ to ensure they are recognized by the application.

---

Step 4: Design Required Fields

4.1 Natural Key Field (Required)

This must be the first field in your form:

Property	Value
Label	Descriptive name (e.g., "Micronutrients Study Id")
Type	Select
Name	naming_series
Naming Series	Short identifier (e.g., MAIHIV-.####)

note

The naming series should be a short form of your form name followed by .#### for auto-numbering.

4.2 Relationship Fields (Required)

Add these three required fields:

Field	Link To
Study	Study DocType
Study Event	Study Event DocType
Subject	Subject DocType

important

Position the Study and Subject fields next to each other as they are both read-only display fields.

---

Step 5: Add Form-Specific Fields

Add the data collection fields for your study.

Checkbox Field Example

Property	Value
Label	Has the patient received initiation counselling?
Type	Check
Name	has_patient_received_initiation_counselling

Field Naming

Use slugified form of the label for the field name.

Date Field Example

Property	Value
Label	Initiation counselling session 1 Date
Type	Date
Name	ini_coun_session_1_date

Select Field Example

Property	Value
Label	Initiation counselling session 1 Type
Type	Select
Name	ini_coun_session_1_type
Options	One option per line

---

Step 6: Save Your Form

Click Save to publish the form.

---

Step 7: Add CRF to a Study

1. Navigate to Studies in the clinical application
2. Select the target study
3. Go to the CRFs tab
4. Click Add CRFs
5. Select your newly created form
6. Click Add

---

Step 8: View CRF in Action

note

CRF forms are accessed through the participant/subject interface.

1. Navigate to Subjects tab in your study
2. Select a subject
3. Your CRF form appears in the left navigation
4. Click on the form name
5. Click Add First CRF Entry to begin data capture

---

Quick Reference

Requirement	Details
Form prefix	CRF_FORM_
Required fields	naming_series, Study, Study Event, Subject
Access point	Subject/Participant view

---

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Form not in CRF list	Verify form name starts with CRF_FORM_
Form not appearing	Ensure all required fields are present
Data not saving	Refresh the application and retry