Common Longitudinal ICU data Format (CLIF)
Advancing Critical Care Through Federated Research
CLIF streamlines longitudinal ICU data into a harmonized, federated framework — enabling rapid, privacy‑preserving multicenter research
Explore the Four Dimensions of CLIF
High Impact Scientific Papers
Our consortium has published significant research in top-tier journals, demonstrating how CLIF enables rapid, multi-center studies that were previously impossible. From COVID-19 outcomes to sepsis prediction, CLIF supports discoveries that improve patient outcomes.
Read Our Latest PublicationOpen Source Data Dictionary and ETL Tools
CLIF 2.0.0 represents years of refinement, incorporating feedback from 10+ billion data points. Our open-source data dictionary and ETL tools make it easy for any institution to transform their ICU data into the CLIF format, joining our federated research network.
View CLIF-2.0.0 Data DictionaryLarge Distributed Cohort in the Consortium
With 680,158 unique ICU patients and 862,400 encounters across 10 active sites, CLIF provides the statistical power needed for robust research. Our interactive dashboard lets you explore cohort characteristics and demographics in real-time, ensuring your studies have the data they need.
Explore Cohort DashboardOpen Source Products Built on Top of CLIF
From machine learning pipelines to quality improvement dashboards, the CLIF ecosystem includes open-source tools that accelerate research. Build on our foundation with confidence, knowing you're using proven infrastructure designed for critical care analytics.
See What You Can BuildParticipating Institutions
Unique ICU Patients
ICU Encounters
Hospitals
Building a Foundation for Critical Care Research
We assembled a geographically diverse group of U.S.-based clinician-scientists and data scientists with deep experience in EHR-based clinical outcomes research and AI applications.
Consortium Assembly Begins
Geographically diverse group of U.S.-based clinician-scientists and data scientists convene virtually
Challenge Identification & Solution Development
Identified practical challenges of using EHR data for critical illness research across institutions
Standardized Framework Established
Developed standardized operating procedures, shared terminologies, and robust quality control methods
Publication & Implementation
Framework published in Intensive Care Medicine, enabling critical care research across all hospital settings
Our Guiding Principles
Efficient
Clinically meaningful data structures
Consistent
Harmonizable data elements
Scalable
Flexible for future innovations
Federated
Privacy-preserving collaborative research
Open Source
FAIR data principles & NIH compliance
Our Overarching Goal
To provide a standardized framework for representing critical illness data across all hospital care settings — from ICUs to emergency departments and hospital wards — enabling researchers to accomplish essential critical care informatics tasks wherever and whenever critical illness begins.
Advancing Federated Critical Care Research
CLIF represents a significant advancement in how we approach multi-center critical care research. By standardizing data at the source while preserving patient privacy through federated analytics, we're enabling important discoveries that improve patient care.
The Challenge We Solve
Fragmented Systems
Incompatible data formats and systems across institutions prevent effective collaboration
Time Barriers
Months needed for data use agreements, then harmonizing data at central sites delays critical research
Privacy Concerns
Centralized data repositories raise security and compliance challenges
The CLIF Solution
Rapid Analysis
Test hypotheses across millions of encounters in days, not years
Privacy-First
Federated architecture ensures patient data security
Standardized Format
CLIF 2.0.0 - Our most comprehensive data model
Key Features
Accelerate Discovery
Go from hypothesis to multi-center analysis in days, not years. Our standardized format eliminates months of data wrangling.
Preserve Privacy
Federated architecture means patient data never leaves your institution. Achieve collaboration without compromising security.
Ensure Reproducibility
Standardized variables and harmonized vocabularies through mCIDE guarantee your research can be validated and extended.
Open Source Innovation
CLIF is proudly open source software, licensed under the Apache License 2.0. This ensures our tools and standards remain freely available to the global research community, fostering collaboration and supporting critical care research globally.
View Apache 2.0 LicenseOur Growing Collaborative Network
Leading academic medical centers across North America have joined CLIF to advance critical care through collaborative, data-driven research
