How to Improve Clinical Trials Patient Retention?
According to research studies, patient-focused clinical trials are successful in recruiting the required number of patients in almost half the duration as compared to other trials.
In contrast, only around 44% of medical professionals believe their company will adopt patient-focused clinical trial protocols.
Apart from this, there is a strong link between patient recruitment and patient retention. Usually, a clinical trial extends recruitment by nearly 71% which costs the sponsors millions of dollars.
The major reason for this is that most recruits choose to drop out of the trial early which results in the trial not being as effective and successful as originally expected.
To help you understand the importance of patient retention we have outlined several tips to help with clinical trials patient retention.
Importance of Clinical Trials Patient Retention
As per studies, the nominal cost of developing a single medical drug is around US$ 2.6 billion.
It is estimated that clinical trial sponsors lose around US$ 600,000 to US$ 8 million each day a trial is delayed for any reason.
Patient retention is one of the most commonly reported problems for sponsors and organizers of clinical trials.
However, clinical research today needs to concentrate more on patient support to ensure ample patient retention rates. This will also ensure the overall success of the clinical trial.
Importance of Clinical Trials Patient Retention
Participants in clinical trials need to feel cared for. They expect to be treated as individuals. Thus, clinical trial organizers need to let go of the conventional one-size-fits-all mindset as it makes the participant feel undervalued.
As the world changes, so do people’s expectations. Potential participants are now able to access in-depth information and details of clinical trials through social media and online forums dedicated to clinical trial participation.
This has resulted in various Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs) popping up around the industry.
Top Tips for Clinical Trials Patient Retention
Now that the medical industry and trial sponsors are more aware of reasons why patients drop out of clinical trials midway, let’s take a look at some of the tips that can help improve clinical trials patient retention rate:
1 – Work in-sync with patients and advocacy groups
Patients today are very aware of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to participating in clinical trials. Numerous approaches can help foster better patient relationships and improve trial planning effectively.
PAGs are increasing every day, advocating upholding the rights of patients participating in clinical trials.
This is a great opportunity for sponsors to form stronger relationships with PAGs and collaborate to remedy frequently-faced patient problems.
This way, you can effectively improve patient retention during the clinical trial.
2 – Acknowledge patient problems
It is not always easy to measure patient sentiments. At times, even the patient is not sure as to how they feel.
However, by using data-collection technology based on patient emotions, it becomes easier to monitor emotional shifts in patients. This is effective to resolve issues promptly for the patient.
Monitoring patient sentiment helps predict it too, which is helpful to identify and prevent, factors that cause loss of patients during clinical trials.
3 – Enhance convenience and efficiency
There are several ways where you can improve convenience for the patients. For instance, giving patients control over their expense management, reimbursement, travel and accommodation arrangements helps to tailor the trial to be of utmost convenience.
This is an important key to ensuring sufficient patient retention during clinical trials.
Some additional services that help enhance convenience and efficiency for patients participating in clinical trials include home health services, translational services, personalized travel services and maximum use of mobile technology.
4 – Stronger and more effective communication with patients
Concise, patient-centric communication is extremely crucial for patient retention. To do this, we need to cultivate optimal communication that helps build trust and develops comfort for patients in the beginning.
It is essential to know the patient to provide the essential but important facilities and services.
Listening to the patient’s problems, advising and counseling patients is excellent to develop an effective patient-centric communication model for clinical trials.
5 – Using new technology to the full
New, innovative technology offers incredible advantages and opportunities to improve patient retention during clinical trials.
This technology lets us gather huge volumes of data, which can be collected and analyzed remotely using the latest communication technology.
This way, you can shape patient expectations faster and more efficiently.
Conclusion
Clinical trial patient retention is one of the biggest concerns for trial sponsors today. However, with the help of the above-mentioned tips, you can now ensure optimal clinical trial patient retention.
See Also
Clinical Research Project Manager
Reference links:
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I am a dedicated healthcare researcher and an enthusiast specializing in medical grants, medical education and research. Through my articles, I aim to empower healthcare professionals and researchers with valuable insights and resources to navigate these critical aspects effectively.
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