How eConsent Can Help Legally Authorized Representatives In Clinical Trials

A legally authorized representative (LAR) has a vital role to play in clinical trials, yet clinical trial software vendors too often forget to think about LARs and their needs. 

Most clinical research professionals have encountered patients who are in a coma or who have conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia, serious mental illness, or developmental disabilities that prevent them from understanding and completing the informed consent process. 

In these cases, a Legally Authorized Representative (LAR) can sign on the patients’ behalf, in accordance with FDA or other national regulations. 

But in spite of how important LARs are to clinical trials, clinical trial software vendors often market their products exclusively to patients who can consent to and participate in trials themselves. Little or nothing is said about how the software can help Legally Authorized Representatives with informed consent.

With that in mind, we’ve put together this list of three ways eConsent can help LARs.