Patients Or Players? Gamification As A Patient-Centric Retention Strategy For Clinical Trials

The National Academy of Science found patient dropout rates to be as high as 30% in clinical trials, yet few new strategies to improve patient engagement and retention have been proposed despite calls for better trial design and conduct to limit the impact of missing data². Missing outcome data caused by patient dropout and poor compliance not only jeopardizes the scientific validity of a study, but also comes at a significant financial cost to sponsors.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has estimated the cost of enrolling and retaining a single patient in any phase trial at nearly $36,000, highlighting the importance of improved retention techniques to protect the significant financial investment made in trial participants³. Regulatory changes have led to a 70% increase in study duration and a 65% increase in the number of trial protocol procedures over the past decade, which further exacerbates the challenge of participant retention⁴.

Fortunately, technology offers an opportunity to address this challenge in novel ways by enabling more patient-centric practices to be implemented and ultimately accelerate drug development⁵.