Understanding Roles And Needs Of Stakeholders In Decentralized Trials

Technology to support decentralized clinical trials has been developing for several years, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed decentralized trial use into high gear. Rapid development of decentralized trial methods in 2020 and 2021 has provided a wealth of information — much of it promising. Many clinical trial teams were able to collect at least some data remotely, reducing the burden on patients.

Decentralized trials introduce new technologies to address the challenges of running a clinical trial without a single, centralized trial site. Some of these challenges are unique to decentralized trials. Other challenges exist in both centralized and decentralized trials.

One challenge common to all clinical trials is to coordinate the roles and needs of various stakeholders. Understanding these roles and needs is a must.