Choosing The Right Survey Tool For Clinical Trials

By Anuj Thapar, Product Manager, TI E-Feasibility, Trial Interactive, TransPerfect Life Sciences

In previous e-feasibility-focused blog posts titled Maximizing Efficiencies in Site Enrollment I and II, we discussed how technology provides the opportunity to overcome specific site feasibility challenges. Web-based survey tools can be extremely beneficial to pharmaceutical companies and CROs for reducing site selection cycle time as well as operational costs (not to mention the opportunity costs). But what sets site feasibility, and other clinical forms, apart from other nonclinical survey types?

Before we answer that question, a quick anecdote: Once, when I was plagued with an ear infection, my primary care physician insisted I see an ENT specialist. While a longer drive and higher co-pay weren’t helping his case, he persisted, so I gave in and got the care necessary to manage my health. Better sense prevailed!

The point of that anecdotal detour is that, much like seeing the properly specialized medical professional, the health of your clinical processes are impacted by choosing the right specialized solutions. In the case of clinical trials, “health” can amount to costs of millions of dollars.

With a market full of well-known survey tools, why do clinical trials need something else? Here are five compelling reasons: