Can Decentralized Clinical Trials Solve Attrition? Early Research Suggests ‘Yes.'

By Katy Preciado, Virtual Trials Study Lead

Meeting recruiting goals is always an important factor for clinical trials. But even when the most effective recruiting efforts are not balanced with strategies to engage and retain those patients, it will put the trial results at risk. When patients drop out of a trial, it not only creates data gaps, it skews the overall patient population and can lead to biased results.

Patient attrition has always been a challenge in clinical research, but the use of decentralized clinical trials (DCTs) may help sponsors overcome attrition problems. DCTs allow sponsors to create trial experiences that are less burdensome and more equitable to patients with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and care needs.

When we combine the use of these models with direct feedback from patients about what would make trial participation a meaningful care option, it can bolster retention and greater engagement between patients, investigators and sponsors.