Despite billions of dollars spent annually by the pharmaceutical industry, patient recruitment and retention remain significant challenges for clinical trials.according to clinical directorthe statistics are grim: 85% of clinical trials fail to retain enough patients; 80% fail to complete on time; 30% of patients drop out; over 66% of sites fail to meet enrollment quotas; as many as 50% of trials Sites enroll only one patient or no patients at all.
Patients from diverse populations and disenfranchised minorities are most affected, having to live with everything from implicit biases in the healthcare system to language and communication barriers to technological limitations. These barriers increase hesitancy and reduce motivation, significantly increase the cost and hassle of trials, and can delay important new drugs and treatments.
These effects span the entire life cycle of a pharmaceutical brand. Unable to gain insight into the hearts and minds of patients, the industry flies blind and public health suffers. For example, a clinical trial might prove successful but the drug has limited adoption; or a promising candidate might be rejected on the basis of side effects that patients can still tolerate—if researchers just ask.
Patient-Centered Pre-Release
Thanks in large part to the rise of social media, Electronic Patient Movement A patient-centric approach has been infused into the industry, putting healthcare system end users front and center. Applied to clinical trials, the goal is to facilitate recruitment and retention by increasing sensitivity to patient needs and expectations. Trial sponsors, patient coordinators and CROs who provide personalized support have stepped up.
The government is also aware of this need and has taken action. The CARES Act recently issued by Congress and new FDA guidance provide a new approach to patient-centered drug development (PFDD).
Still, barriers to raising patient awareness remain, including fragmented global markets with different regulatory standards and stubborn corporate leadership overseeing limited cross-functional teams.
Despite these obstacles, significant progress continues, many of which have been accelerated by the global pandemic.Due to a combination of factors including social distancing, travel restrictions and concerns about the immunocompromised, 76% of clinical respondents Oracle Research Said they have increased their adoption of a decentralized approach that relies heavily on digital communications and technological innovation.
“Pharma Companies Are Listening”: The Rise of Voice-Driven Insights
The future points to a creative combination of innovative technology adoption, remote patient connectivity, and enhanced support services. A personalized, empathetic relationship between companies, clinicians, and patients has become a prerequisite for ensuring improved recruitment and retention, as well as optimized trial design. But the missing link is figuring out how to collect, analyze and share patient perspectives.
Traditional methods of obtaining patient perspectives are often time-consuming and expensive, and tend to alienate and ignore already disenfranchised communities. For example, quantitative surveys anonymize and dehumanize subjects, while qualitative methods such as focus groups may exhibit implicit bias and intimidate different patient groups who are already stigmatized and discriminated against by the healthcare system.
More personalized approaches, such as phone interviews, working with advocacy groups, convening patient advisory committees, and relying on in-house teams allow for deeper exploration, but they can be cumbersome to execute and have limited results. A new, refreshing and convenient method is calling to give every patient the ability and desire to share their thoughts candidly – and that method is voice technology.
How voice technology is changing clinical trials
Savvy next-generation market researchers leverage Big Tech’s many tools, including voice response, to streamline processes and empower diverse patients. After all, everyone has a phone, and talking is the most natural thing people do. Why rely on inhumane investigations and intimidating focus groups when patients of all backgrounds can’t wait to express themselves—as long as they are encouraged and able to do so.
Imagine a patient being invited to provide their perspective on their own device. Stimuli and questions are provided, encouraging open-ended voice responses, and patients can engage at their convenience. Their recordings are then analyzed using a combination of machine learning and human language expertise, and results are shared with study sponsors through dynamic reports that highlight actionable recommendations for clinical trial optimization.
Achieving a new era of PFDD requires empowering patients from diverse backgrounds, communities, and walks of life, and educating clinicians and researchers about the design and conduct of clinical trials. The goal is to better understand patient needs at each touchpoint to optimize recruitment and improve retention. Delighted and reassured patient engagement; alienated and neglected patient withdrawal.
Fair Play: Inclusion through Technology
hear The patient’s real voice You’ll learn how to democratize market research as they describe their situation through analogy and storytelling. Thousands of patients from different backgrounds share easily and candidly through their own mobile phones, and their thoughts, feelings and often strong opinions are finally heard and often followed.
The results optimize clinical trial design, recruitment, retention, and every subsequent step of drug development and beyond. Every need from naming to naming, branding to messaging, reimbursement to patient support and relationship management programs benefits from the ability to collect, analyze and report patient insights to make actionable recommendations.
By improving the clinical trial experience for patients, a fast and efficient drug development process brings better treatments to market faster. And thanks to voice-responsive technology, pharmaceutical companies have gained unprecedented access to the hearts and minds of patients entering numerous disease states, as well as previously neglected communities. By turning market research into a digital service, we all win.
Image credit: iNueng, Getty Images
