Datetime Values and Time Zones in Vessel Overview & FAQ

Datetime Values in the User Interface

In the Vessel user interface (UI), the time zone in which datetime values are surfaced depends on who is viewing the value, though the value itself remains intact in the database, as entered by the site user. 

  • For site users and principal investigators, the time zone in which site-entered datetime values displays shifts based on their local time zone. 
  • Read-only users (DMs, monitors, etc.) will always see a value in the time zone of the person who entered it. 
  • In the audit trail, users will always see “when” values (when an action took place in Vessel) in their local time zone regardless of their role. This functionality has not changed. 
    • Example 1: 
      • Site User, 1 located in New York, and entered 1/1/2020 for “Date of Dose” field:
        • This value is saved as 1/1/2020, and the audit trail in the UI is displayed as 1/1/2020 (UTC-5). 
        • As the field only records date, the backend value is automatically saved with [00:00:00] (or 12 AM) for the unknown hours:minutes:seconds, i.e. 1/1/2020 00:00:00 UTC-5.
      • Site User 2, located in California, sees the value as 12/31/2019.
        • The audit trail in the UI will display 12/31/2019 (UTC-8) as there is a 3-hour time difference between NY and CA (1/1/2020 00:00:00 UTC-5 is 12/13/2019 21:00:00 UTC-8).
      • DM/Monitor/Read-Only users will see 1/1/2020 (UTC-5), regardless of where they are located, because they always see the value as entered by the site user.
    • Example 2:
      • In the screenshot below of a Data Manager's view of the Visit Update History, you can see that the Visit Date was entered by someone in the UTC-7 time zone as 3/1/2021, 12:00:00 AM. The audit trail shows "when" that value was entered in the Data Manager's local time zone (UTC-5).

Reports

To ensure reports serve as a source of truth regarding datetime values, we made an update in the 2.17.0 release to consistently surface these values in the Dashboard and Clinical Listings reports:

  • Site-entered datetime values (e.g., Visit Date) surface as they were entered by the site user (no time zone change).
  • Datetimes reflecting "when" an update was made in the EDC (e.g., Visit Started in EDC) surface in UTC.

This means that, no matter where in the world the report is downloaded, it will always show the same values.

Subject PDF and XML

All datetime values are surfaced in UTC in the subject PDF and XML, accessed via the ODM API. This applies to both site-entered datetime values and values showing "when" an action took place in Vessel.


FAQs

  1. Why do I see a UTC offset next to datetime values in the audit trail in Vessel? 
    1. To improve transparency into the time zone in which the viewer sees datetime values in the Vessel UI, and to allow users to better interpret data in Vessel across time zones, we added UTC offset next to datetime values in the audit trail in the UI.
  2. If I'm seeing a different date in Vessel from what my colleague is seeing, how do I know what date is actually saved to the database? 
    1. You can use the UTC offset shown in the audit trail next to the value to interpret why the value looks different to you and your colleague. You can download the Clinical Listing report to confirm the value that the site entered.
  3. I am entering data for a patient seen in a different time zone from my own. Do I need to change the way I enter datetime values in Vessel?
    1. No, you should continue to enter the value without considering your local time zone. For example, if the patient was seen on 1/1/2020 at 8:00 AM, you should enter 1/1/2020 8:00 AM in Vessel. This is how the value will be recorded in the database.
  4. Why does the Dashboard Report/ Clinical Listings report show a different Visit Date than I'm seeing in the Vessel UI? 
    1. Reports surface site-entered datetime values, such as Visit Date, as they were entered by the site user. If the site user entered 1/1/2020 at 8:00 AM, the reports will surface 1/1/2020 at 8:00 AM. You may see a different date in the UI if you are a Site User or PI in a different time zone from the person who entered the value.
  5. Why does the Dashboard Report/ Clinical Listings report show a different field entry time than I'm seeing in the Vessel UI?
    1. Reports surface "when" values (values that show when an action was taken in the EDC, such as Visit Started in EDC) in the UTC time zone. In the UI, you will see these values in your local time zone, with a UTC offset. For example, you may see that a value was entered in Vessel at 1/1/2020 at 8:00 AM UTC-5. The report will surface that data entry timestamp as 1/1/2020 1:00 PM.

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