Clinical trials today require more patient involvement than ever before. Longer, more frequent visits or visits that are far from home can impact a patient’s willingness to participate in research – let alone remain in a trial. As a result, patient recruitment can be a challenge for sites and pharmaceutical companies exploring new treatment options. Sadly, the average drop-out rate across clinical trials is 30%
With the increasing need for patient data, sponsors and sites are investing in ePRO / eCOA systems that allow clinical trial participants to remain home and provide information in a digital format. I’ve been fortunate to spend the last decade working healthcare technology – as a vendor, at a CRO managing eCOA and ePRO vendors, and now at Greenphire. These systems have become essential to the overall success of trials. Sponsors and sites can collect valuable data and ask key questions of patients on the frequency and severity of their symptoms. Do you feel better? Rank how you feel today versus yesterday?
This considerable investment increases patient convenience, decreases recall bias, and removes a layer of burden from the site. We’ve come a long way from the days of collecting patient reported outcomes solely on paper. Instead of having to come into the clinic to share how they have felt over the past week; patients can click a few buttons and information about symptoms or treatment is transferred and integrated with other research data in real-time. Additionally, the patient and the site no longer need to manage and keep track of the paper diary materials.
But what if the patient forgets to enter information for a day? Or worse, what if the patient goes away for a few days and forgets to pack the device?
Even with the best intentions, mistakes can happen, and diary compliance is still a challenge, whether using paper or digital methods. Particularly in large trials with thousands of participants, missing diary entries and inputs can greatly hinder a Sponsor’s ability for complete data analysis throughout the trial.
Reminding – and Incentivizing Patients to Complete ePRO Diaries with ClinCard
We have increasingly seen clients focused on increasing completion rates of patient reported outcomes and bolstering compliance using ClinCard.
ClinCard has built-in text reminders for upcoming onsite patient visits and the ability to trigger “micropayments” when select tasks are completed. Our software easily can integrate with ePRO / eCOA systems via an API call, allowing timely provisioning of the micropayments upon completion of each payable eDiary entry and encouraging future compliance.
Sharing Best Practices to Improve End-to-End Clinical Trial Results
Greenphire is committed to developing technology that removes administrative and financial burdens in clinical trials. What challenges have you encountered? Let’s talk about ways to improve your clinical trial effectiveness and efficiency using automation.
