Adopting Decentralized Clinical Trial Approaches Is More Than Implementing Technology: 5 Potential Pitfalls

We have all heard of the benefits of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs): recruitment and enrollment are usually accelerated, patient diversity can be improved, and the burden of participation is lowered by offering more options and greater choice. A range of data sources can be leveraged—traditional clinical data, data from wearable sensors, and patient-reported outcomes—making the outcomes more relevant and the results more generalizable. Additionally, there is less burden on sites with more streamlined workflows.

For these reasons, decentralized clinical trials were utilized by a growing number of life sciences companies as a way to accelerate drug development and improve the patient experience even before the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt in 2020. The inability of patients to make it to trial sites because of the global pandemic hastened the adoption and popularity of DCTs and made them mainstream. But, without proper adoption, implementation, and execution, improved patient experience is not guaranteed.

When looking at adopting decentralized clinical trials, much of the focus is on technology design and implementation. While this is critical, there are several other key considerations to be aware of for successful DCT execution and improved site and patient experiences and adoption.