Demystifying IRT Terminology

By Bryan Clayton, Vice President, Strategic Solutions, YPrime

Our industry, like many others, is full of acronyms. In our line of business, there are myriad terms used and many of them mean the same thing. I spent some time discussing and clarifying those terms.

IRT (Interactive Response Technology), IVRS (Interactive Voice Response Systems), IWRS (Interactive Web Response Systems) IxRS® and RTSM (Randomization and Trial Supply Management) – all mean the same thing.

Do not dates, stopping dates and DNX dates all mean the same thing: do not ship/dispense or stop shipping/dispensing. What isn’t always clear and a question I often get asked is is this the last day the drug can be dispensed or is this the first day the drug will not be dispensed? Without a clear answer to that question, there can be major implications.

Forecasting period, look ahead and short window are also analogous for describing re-supply strategies.

Bryan Clayton, Vice President, Strategic Solutions, YPrime recently presented a webinar on IRT technology. This article recaps the discussion on IRT terminology, SDLC methodologies and how different approaches can save time, risk and cost.