
Simplifying the Patient Journey with Technology
Technology is swiftly evolving into an essential component of patient recruitment and retention for clinical research sites.
Clinical trial participants are the driving force behind medical breakthroughs. It is research sites who bear the essential responsibility of guiding participants along their journey through clinical trials. Since it is sites who are on the front lines of recruitment and retention, it’s up to them to simplify the process of joining and remaining in clinical trials for patients wherever possible. Thankfully, there are a variety of technological solutions available at the site level that help improve the patient’s clinical trial experience. A simplified patient journey improves recruitment and retention rates and relieves layers of administrative burden from site staff, streamlining operations.
We highlight two of the biggest barriers for patient participation and some technological solutions available for sites to boost patient recruitment and retention.
1) Lack of awareness.
Lack of patient awareness of clinical trials is a well-established hurdle to clinical trial participation. Most Americans have little or no knowledge about clinical trials, which translates to under-enrolling sites. A recent study from CSDD found that 37% of research failed to meet enrollment goals. We discuss a few technological solutions that help sites raise awareness of their study opportunities and reach high-quality patients.
- Doctor referrals. Referring physicians are a heavily underutilized resource for clinical trial recruitment. Physicians have access to treasure troves of high-quality patients who may potentially benefit from participating in a clinical trial. Unfortunately, too few physicians are aware of local clinical research opportunities. Mobile referring apps help bridge the gap between local physicians and research sites. One such app, Research Hive provides a low-burden pathway for physicians to refer patients. The app platform equips health care providers with the key study details they need to identify qualified patients, as well as an easy referral channel. Physicians on Research Hive easily send qualified patients directly to local research site staff in app.
2) Costs and time associated with participating.
Patients must take time out of their busy lives in order to participate in a trial. If the burden of attending visits and communicating with the site staff is deemed to be too great, then recruitment and retention rates suffer. Sites should accommodate patients whenever possible to make participation hassle-free. Transportation coordination and stipend management technology help site staff make some of these accommodations.

