August 2024 SOCRA Source Journal - Journal - Page 19
JOURNAL ARTICLES
How to Restore Order to
the Daily Chaos and Amplify
the Clinical Research Site’s
Voice to Sponsors
Ted Trafford
Director of Business Development,
Probity Medical Research
Mike Wenger
Founder & CEO, VersaTrial
Ted Trafford
Abstract: The ongoing transformation of clinical research has far-reaching potential bene昀椀ts in cost reduction,
patient-centeredness, high-quality data collection, and faster clinical trial timelines. For clinical research sites,
however, the technology boom is creating more challenges than it solves. On average, most sites log into 20
different technology platforms on any given day. These systems rarely communicate with one another, leaving
data silos in their wake. Also, substantial sponsor and CRO staff turnover creates a lengthy queue of technology
onboarding, system access provisioning, and maintaining an unruly rolodex of CRO and sponsor contacts. To add
insult to injury, clinical research sites are rarely asked for their input on the design or selection of new technology,
even though they are the primary users.
This article uses a real-world case study to share how research teams can, in one place, organize, access, and share
trial-related platform links and contacts, and 昀椀nally have sponsors hear and react to their end-user feedback. The
no-software site solution described, designed with the expertise of sites themselves, enables research teams to
昀椀nally restore order to the day-to-day chaos that siloed technology creates in clinical research.
Introduction
The complexity of clinical trials
creates chaos and confusion
and lowers con昀椀dence at
sites. It introduces a chasm
between clinical research sites,
contract research organizations
(CROs), sponsors, and study
participants. With each passing
year, this chasm grows larger as
more technology is added for
sites to use in clinical research.
The digital transformation that
clinical research is encountering
has a great deal of potential. In
clinical trials, however, there is
a troubling habit of taking the
simple and making it confusing
and complex. While wellintentioned, technology often
goes awry. Table 1 highlights
the unintended consequences
of clinical trial technology.
Study visits now take longer
than ever. Many sites that the
author (Trafford) works with
report that their research teams
can only conduct half the
number of study visits in a day
that they used to conduct 10
years ago. The actual amount
of time spent during the study
visits with study participants is
shrinking. This is not good.
TABLE 1
Unintended Consequences
of Clinical Trial Technology
•
•
•
•
•
•
Longer study visits
More time with
technology
Less clinical research
site ef昀椀ciency
More participant
responsibility
Less site income
More site-sponsor
disconnect
SOCRA SOURCE © May 2024
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