Clinical trials need the right number of patients to successfully bring treatments to market. But this can be challenging: More than 86% of all clinical trials fail to reach enrollment deadlines, and 30% of phase III trials fail altogether due to enrollment challenges.
Given these statistics and your experience with these challenges, you might wonder: How do you develop a successful enrollment strategy? What sets a successful strategy apart from one that misses its targets?
Instead of struggling to meet enrollment needs, CROs and sponsors trust AutoCruitment to accelerate effective patient recruitment in clinical trials. Learn how to enhance your enrollment strategy based on AutoCruitment’s expertise.
Understanding the Challenges in Patient Recruitment
Pharmaceutical companies and other sponsors require the right amount of qualified patients to proceed with clinical trials. This poses a few challenges:
- Finding qualified patients based on the conditions being studied and the inclusion/exclusion criteria.
- Finding patients who are able and willing to participate in the study through its completion.
Firstly, most clinical trial sites only have access to about 5-10% of the necessary patients from their current network, meaning they need to outsource to reach the remaining 90%+. Factors such as narrow eligibility criteria and geographic barriers can further limit the pool of suitable candidates.
Additionally, if the enrollment process is too complicated, even interested patients might abandon it altogether. Think about it: Patients need to retrieve old medical records from past doctors and remember passwords for long-forgotten websites.
Once you have patients in your trial, the challenges don’t end. Patient retention can prove difficult, with an average of 25% of patients dropping out of studies after expressing informed consent.
All of these challenges delay trial timelines and negatively impact trial outcomes. To overcome these and other setbacks, develop a successful and speedy approach to clinical trial recruitment by leveraging planning and retention strategies.
The result? Highly qualified, loyal candidates.
Pre-Recruitment Planning
Before you begin recruitment, form a comprehensive plan that accounts for your targets and recruitment goals. The new Diversity Action Plan guidance from the FDA emphasizes building diversity into your recruitment strategy from the beginning.
Identifying Target Population
First, identify your target population. What types of patients do you need for your trial? What are your inclusion and exclusion criteria?
Remember to outline your specifications regarding demographic and geographic considerations. Understanding your clinical study’s needs as early as possible can help you better qualify candidates.
Setting Recruitment Goals
It’s also important to specify your recruitment goals. Define clear, measurable objectives for key metrics such as:
- Patient enrollment numbers
- Recruitment rate
- Screening rate
Also, establish clear timelines and milestones. For example, you can create a detailed recruitment timeline by outlining key deadlines for each stage of the recruitment process.
Creating a Patient-Centric Approach
Next, take a patient-centric approach to recruiting for your clinical trial. This philosophy values practices that place the patient at the center of the clinical research process. It emphasizes recognizing each patient’s needs: Patient education, privacy, communication, and respectful treatment.
Patient Education and Awareness
As part of your patient-centric approach, you should prioritize patient education and awareness when it comes to your medical research. Develop informative materials highlighting key details of the study, including eligibility criteria, potential benefits and risks, and contact information.
Consider utilizing multimedia channels for this outreach. For example, you can create websites and dedicated landing pages to provide patients with detailed information and produce informative videos that clearly explain the study’s purpose and procedures.
AutoCruitment develops a comprehensive portfolio of study-specific materials, including dedicated websites and landing pages, to inform and engage participants for each supported study. Within that, patients will find details on the study to further inform them about the requirements over the life of the study.
Building Trust and Rapport
Did you know that one of the patients’ biggest motivations for trial participation is trust in the attending physician? Establishing rapport with potential patients is essential for successful recruitment.
Communicate with patients transparently to build trust, particularly regarding trial risks and benefits. Provide them with clear and honest information and address any questions or concerns in a timely manner.
Engaging with patient advocates can build trust in your clinical trial recruitment strategies. For example, consider collaborating with patient advocacy groups that represent your target population. These groups can build a vital bridge between your organization and eligible patient populations.
AutoCruitment’s Engagement Services teams support patients throughout the recruitment process. From answering questions about the study to sharing appointment reminders and other helpful study-related information, patients have a dedicated specialist who is there to ensure their needs are met.
Utilizing Technology and Digital Tools
Today’s advanced technology and digital tools can help you effectively target eligible patients for clinical trial participation.
Digital Recruitment Platforms
There are several ways to recruit patients digitally. You can use online registries and databases, but typically, they only contain a small sliver of qualified patients.
The direct-to-patient approach is one of the most effective methods of recruiting patients today.
AutoCruitment’s proprietary technology platform uses online browser behavior and geotargeting to reach interested and qualified patients while they search for information about their condition online.
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and Data Analytics
Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) can help you qualify potential participants based on health data and study criteria. AutoCruitment uses a unique Electronic Medical Record Capture & Intelligence system to capture patient consent and HIPAA authorization, query health networks, and automatically collect and standardize medical records on a patient’s behalf.
Monitoring and Adjusting Strategies
As you progress through patient recruitment in clinical trials, continuously evaluate your patient recruitment screening and engagement, identify bottlenecks, and make necessary adjustments to your strategies—track recruitment progress with the goals discussed earlier. Additionally, identify trends and patterns in recruitment data using data analysis tools.
For example, you can analyze the effectiveness of different communication channels, review your patient recruiting methods, and look for ways to improve the patient experience.
Successful Clinical Trials Start With Patient Recruitment
A successful clinical trial relies on effective patient recruitment. By understanding the typical challenges in clinical trial recruitment and taking steps to enroll patients successfully and swiftly, you can ensure you have the right number of eligible and eager patients who will see your study through to completion.
If you’re ready to transform how you approach patient recruitment in clinical trials, AutoCruitment is here to help. The AutoCruitment difference allows you to unlock the power of patient recruitment and find the patients you need at the right time. We partner with sponsors and contract research organizations (CROs) to recruit patients via direct-to-patient recruitment.
Contact us today to find out how our end-to-end patient recruitment solutions can significantly improve your recruitment strategy.