Holistic Implementation Of Decentralized Clinical Trial Elements Drives Modern Research

By Edward Triebell and Beth Culver, Medical Research Network

A traditional clinical trial encounters significant logistical barriers that directly impact recruitment, and during the trial impact patient enthusiasm and engagement, which then impacts the dropout rate. Not everybody lives next to a clinical research site, and depending on their disease, travel may not be easy. If potential participants do not live in or near a medical research hub or have access to top-notch research institutions, how will they find out about a clinical trial? Pediatric and geriatric patients, as well as those with limited mobility, face additional challenges.

Because every trial design, patient, and disease is different, DCT elements must be carefully applied to provide precise solutions to specific, identified problems (from screening and consent to participation and follow-up). The opportunity to mix and match DCT elements opens the door to much more individualized medicine.

Thus, trial designers are tasked with answering, “How can DCT elements help us to make this trial safe, efficient, compassionate, and minimally burdensome to the patient while collecting accurate, timely data?” An experienced technology partner — one that uses substantiated data to support the use of DCT technologies and methods across different therapy areas, patient populations, site needs, etc., rather than throwing everything they offer at a trial — is critical to answering this question.