As we inch our way ever so close to Spring, I cannot help but think about spring cleaning. Personally, I have never been one to go all-out Marie Kondo-style on my house, but rather, I prefer to chip away little by little when I have the time and/or drive to do so. How about you? Are you the kind of person to spend the extra time cleaning every space in one fell swoop, keeping the same organization structure intact from room to room? Or does each space require its own setup, leaving you to take the time and approach you need just for that specific room? Certainly, there are pros and cons to both techniques, and since your home and mine are likely vastly different (unless you also live in Collegeville, PA), what works best for me may not work for you. These two schools of thought apply not just to home organization, but also to the implementation of technology to streamline your clinical trial processes.
Here at Greenphire, one of our core areas of focus is automating investigator payments through our eClinicalGPS solution, which streamlines the payment line-item creation, invoice generation and payment execution workflows. Prior to implementation of our solutions, our clients face similar questions as above – ‘should we implement at the study-level? Or is it better to spend the extra time to streamline all payment processes across all countries & studies through an enterprise-wide implementation? The answer is that one size does not fit all – but we are here to help determine and execute the appropriate approach based on the specific needs.
Study-Level Implementations
Study-level implementations allow for configuration and system usage specific to that individual study while still following Greenphire’s recommended best practices. This works well when timelines are tight, and speed to program go-live is a key requirement. That said, with repeat customers, we certainly have client-specific lessons learned and best practices to apply study-to-study as well. Study-level implementations also work well for those who can use our products in an ‘off the shelf’ manner, meaning, the standard workflows we have designed support their study as-is without extensively nuanced configuration.
Enterprise-Wide Implementations
In an enterprise implementation approach, rather than diving right into any specific study requirements, we work with the client to understand their current investigator payment processes across all respective areas (data management, tax, payment execution, etc.). Out of this discovery and collaboration process comes client-level requirements and streamlined processes which are then used to configure our solution, introduce best practices and apply to each study. Sure, there will be instances where a certain study needs to stray from those requirements, but there will be a documented process, built during enterprise implementation, to handle that kind of deviation (in addition to others). Enterprise implementations of eClinicalGPS may also uncover the need for unique configurations of the system to adapt to existing client processes.
There’s No Right or Wrong Approach
Recommending an implementation type is not always cut and dry. While there is tremendous value in taking the time up front to determine best practices & processes at the client-level, not all clients have the time or resources to take on that kind of project. So, for them, implementing solutions study by study makes the most sense. However, for those organizations with desire, bandwidth, and buy-in to standardize the clinical trial payment processes across the board – spanning all geographies, therapeutic areas, and studies – then an enterprise implementation would be the best path forward. In some cases, a hybrid approach may be most suitable, where in tandem with an enterprise implementation, one-off study implementations are taking place, to help the team understand how best to adopt the solutions enterprise-wide.
No matter which implementation approach fits your needs, Greenphire has you covered with the most flexible solutions and knowledgeable team who is ready, willing, and able to support you on your journey to transforming financial workflows for your trials.
