150
+
1,100
+
42
+
97
%
18,400
+
91% Increase in Monthly Randomizations: Accelerating Enrollment in a Global Menstrual Migraine Study
At a Glance
91% increase
in average patients randomized per month
130 patients
randomized through AutoCruitment referrals
48% of study
randomizations came from AutoCruitment referrals
Approximately 9 months
saved on the enrollment timeline
The Challenge
The Menstrual Migraine Study needed to recruit patients across a large, multi-country site network spanning Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, while identifying candidates who could meet protocol-specific eligibility requirements and successfully progress through screening.
Recruiting across seven European countries added complexity around patient reach, site capacity, and maintaining consistent recruitment execution across different markets.
Site capacity also varied throughout the study. Some sites were able to process significant patient volume, while others required lower volumes or additional support. Enrollment also closed earlier at certain sites, creating a need to redirect patient flow so potentially eligible patients already in the funnel were not unnecessarily lost.
The opportunity was to combine scalable patient recruitment with active Site and Patient Engagement to direct qualified patients toward sites with the capacity to move them through screening and enrollment.
The Approach
AutoCruitment combined direct-to-patient recruitment with protocol-specific qualification and active Site and Patient Engagement across the participating site network.
With a layered approach, patient qualification happened before referral. The online screener filtered out 52.04% of potential patients who did not meet key study requirements, narrowing the referral pool to patients more likely to qualify and reducing unnecessary screening burden on participating sites.
Patients who passed qualification were also supported by AutoCruitment’s Patient Engagement team, helping maintain interest while they waited for sites to contact them and schedule their study visits.
Localized recruitment strategies were tailored by market, adapting messaging, creative, targeting, and patient journeys to local language, culture, and recruitment behavior rather than relying on translation alone.
The recruitment strategy included:
- Localized messaging and targeting tailored to each market’s culture and recruitment dynamics
- Protocol-specific online and phone screening
- Patient Engagement through site handoff
- Site-specific recruitment based on capacity and performance
- Ongoing monitoring of referral flow and patient progression
- Flexible recruitment radiuses and patient routing
- Increased support for high-performing sites
Rather than distributing patient volume evenly across the network, AutoCruitment continuously adjusted recruitment based on where patients had the strongest opportunity to progress toward randomization.
The Results
AutoCruitment contributed 130 randomized patients, significantly exceeding the original goal of 78 randomizations.
This additional enrollment momentum helped the study reach its recruitment goals faster while increasing average monthly randomizations from approximately 14.30 patients per month to 27.30 patients per month, a 91% increase in monthly randomization pace.
Overall, AutoCruitment referrals accounted for 48% of study randomizations during the measured enrollment period.
The impact extended across the international site network, with approximately 77% of supported sites randomizing at least one AutoCruitment patient.
Based on the enrollment pace sites were achieving through their existing recruitment strategies, AutoCruitment’s contribution was estimated to have saved approximately 9 months on the enrollment timeline.
By combining scalable patient acquisition with protocol-specific qualification, localized recruitment strategies, and active Site and Patient Engagement, AutoCruitment helped the study exceed its randomization goal and accelerate enrollment across the participating markets.
Learnings for Future Studies
Continue directing patient volume where it can convert
AutoCruitment continually adjusted recruitment based on site capacity, performance, and enrollment status. Higher-performing sites received additional patient volume, while appropriate patients could be redirected to nearby participating sites when their original location closed enrollment.
This dynamic approach will continue in future studies to help preserve qualified patient opportunities and maximize the enrollment impact of each referral.
Keep qualified patients engaged between screening and site contact
Patients may lose interest if there is a significant delay between qualification and the next step in their study journey.
AutoCruitment’s Patient Engagement team remained connected with qualified patients after phone screening while they waited for sites to schedule their visits.
For future studies, maintaining communication during this period can help preserve patient motivation and reduce avoidable funnel attrition.
Continuously adapt recruitment to site-level needs
Individual sites differed in how much patient volume they could manage and how broadly they wanted recruitment to reach geographically.
Site Engagement worked with participating locations to adjust recruitment radiuses and patient volume based on site-specific needs and performance.
For large, multi-country studies, continually adapting recruitment around site capacity can help ensure patient acquisition translates into randomizations rather than creating additional operational burden.
Ready to Accelerate Enrollment for Your Next Migraine Study?
Complex, multi-site recruitment requires more than generating patient interest. AutoCruitment combines scalable patient acquisition, protocol-specific qualification, and active Site and Patient Engagement to help study teams improve patient progression, maximize site performance, and accelerate randomization.
Talk to our team about your studyAutoCruitment’s patient recruitment platform supports Sponsors, CRO Partners and Research Sites by decreasing time, risk and cost to bring new therapies to market.