Implementing New Technology: Is Change Always Good?
By Life Science Connect Editorial Staff
New and emerging clinical trial technologies promise increased efficiency and ROI but implementing them can be painful. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies looking to upgrade their systems want the transition to be as smooth and straightforward as possible. However, gaining buy-in from sites and staff, managing the transition, and anticipating the next big leap in technology all present unique challenges.
Clinical Leader Live recently asked Jennifer Lee, Elevar Therapeutics; Steve Kemler, RSM U.S.; and Bert Hartog, Janssen Clinical Innovation, their thoughts on new and emerging clinical trial technologies in the webinar, Hard-Earned Lessons From Clinical Trial Implementations, sponsored by Medrio. The panel shared key steps companies can take to mitigate risk and the pain points of embracing new methods.
Choose A Champion
People hesitate to upset the status quo, especially when overwhelmed with their day-to-day responsibilities. They tend to fall back on methodologies they are familiar with, even if those techniques are inefficient. Sponsors and companies upgrading their technology must first convince stakeholders that change is good by recruiting a key leader to champion the new system, spreading excitement and enthusiasm to their colleagues.
The champion understands the upgrade’s advantages and is willing to drive adoption by acting as an ambassador for the new solution. This method is particularly effective for smaller pharmaceutical and biotech companies with limited resources that need to do more with less.
Manage Expectations
New technology is often underutilized unless companies take time to thoughtfully implement its adoption and ensure they're not asking employees to use multiple tools for the same functionality. Also, companies need to watch out for the "capability trap," the tendency to work harder instead of smarter. Ambition drives people to work harder because they see quick returns on their efforts. They put in long hours and achieve high levels of productivity. However, they also burn out quickly, and their output ultimately drops.
Pivoting to work smarter, not harder, means adopting new tools and methodologies with patience and deliberation. As employees adapt to new systems, their throughput will temporarily drop, adding to their stress. Companies must provide ample training and support to build up employees’ capabilities while setting realistic expectations during the adoption and implementation phases. Also, companies need to give employees a little breathing room while learning a new system. Without proper support, employees may fall back on old, familiar methodologies instead of learning new ones. Finally, companies should select a vendor that provides support, such as offering training, during the transition to ease employee stress.
Anticipate AI
The recent explosion of advanced AI across all sectors generates electrifying possibilities for the pharmaceutical industry. For example, AI in oncology research could help sponsors meet diversity and inclusion guidelines, remove barriers to trial enrollment, enhance drug discovery, and revolutionize cancer diagnoses, thus improving clinical outcomes.
Data management uses AI to sift through participants’ charts, medical information, and physicians' notes, flagging keywords and identifying diagnoses, trends, and symptoms. Remarkably, it can use this information to create a two- to three-year trajectory of a participant's health outcomes. However, this exciting technology comes with challenges. For example, wearable devices that record data 24/7 generate massive amounts of information that must be processed.
AI also raises ethical issues. When participants self-report symptoms, the clinician can act, but what if the symptoms are identified through an AI program? Should the program automatically trigger a clinical response, or is that a violation of the participant's privacy? Likewise, technology that collects data around the clock also carries significant privacy implications and thorny issues, such as who owns the data and how it can be authenticated.
Final Thoughts
As technology continues to evolve in leaps and bounds, pharmaceutical and biotech companies need to create realistic strategies for implementing new systems without overburdening their employees. Ultimately, tools that allow clinical trials to run more efficiently carry a high ROI in terms of company resources and employee workload.