CROs - Clinical Trials

Improve patient retention to complete studies on time and within budget

Ira is running a multi-country clinical trial. He was pleased with the results of patient recruitment but, given the 2-year length of the trial, he was concerned about patient retention and their adherence to protocol, which are pervasive problems in clinical research. High drop-out rates can affect the validity of trial results and require additional recruiting, which is costly, both in time and in money. To maximize patient participation, he arranged to have the study sites located at a convenient place for the patients and developed easy-to-follow protocols. While he knew that these strategies have worked well in the past, Ira also saw the need to communicate frequently with the patient-subjects because the more positive the relationship between staff and patients, the greater the motivation to stay in the study. Ira selected Global e-Trials (e-Trials) for cost-effective, ongoing contact with the subjects and to deliver medication reminders, appointment reminders and educational and motivational messages. He also picked e-Trials because of its global reach and multi-lingual capabilities. Each study coordinator personally recorded the messages developed by Ira in the patients' native language, a highly effective method for retaining subjects at each site. Global e-Trials made it easy for sites to change messages or add new ones. The result was higher retention rates and completion of the study on time and within budget.

Higher Patient Retention

Ira saw the need to communicate frequently with the patient-subjects because the more positive the relationship between staff and patients, the greater the motivation to stay in the study."

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