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74% Increase in Patients Randomized: Improving Qualification and Enrollment in a Sleep Apnea Study
At a glance
74% increase
in patients randomized with AutoCruitment support
45 patients
randomized through AutoCruitment referrals
42% of study
randomizations during the campaign came from AutoCruitment referrals
The Challenge
The Sleep Apnea Study needed to recruit patients across a U.S. site network while identifying candidates who could meet a complex set of study requirements and successfully progress through multiple stages of qualification.
Some of the most important eligibility factors were difficult to determine through digital screening alone. Patients needed to provide information related to CPAP use, willingness to discontinue CPAP for the study, relevant medical conditions, and their ability to complete the required study visits and duration. Additional information contained in patients’ medical records, including sleep study results, could also be important in determining eligibility.
The challenge extended beyond identifying potentially eligible patients. AutoCruitment supported 26 sites, requiring continual coordination to ensure sites could manage incoming referrals, contact patients quickly, complete additional phone screening, and keep interested patients moving toward a study visit.
The Approach
AutoCruitment combined direct-to-patient recruitment with a layered qualification strategy and active Site and Patient Engagement support.
With a layered approach, patient qualification happened before referral. The online screener filtered out 68.54% of potential patients who did not meet key screening requirements, helping narrow the population progressing to participating sites.
Importantly, the qualification process was not treated as static. AutoCruitment continually reviewed campaign performance and patient failure reasons to identify where additional screening could improve patient quality.
The recruitment strategy included:
- Protocol-specific online pre-screening followed by additional phone screening
- Ongoing analysis of patient failure reasons and funnel performance
- Updates to the online screener as additional qualification opportunities were identified
- New screening questions addressing CPAP use and willingness to discontinue CPAP during the study
- Additional screening for exclusionary medical conditions, including restless leg syndrome, COPD, and supplemental oxygen therapy
- Patient Engagement support to assist with phone screening and re-engage patients who could not initially be contacted, were no longer interested, or had missed appointments
- Continual Site Engagement to monitor referral volume and support site follow-up
- Weekly communication and escalation between AutoCruitment and the study team to identify and address site-level issues
This data-informed approach allowed the recruitment strategy to evolve throughout the campaign as AutoCruitment identified where patients were being lost and where additional qualification or engagement could strengthen the enrollment funnel.
The Results
AutoCruitment’s patient recruitment and enrollment efforts contributed 45 randomized patients to the Sleep Apnea Study.
With AutoCruitment patients included, study randomizations increased by 74% compared with enrollment without AutoCruitment patients.
The impact was distributed across the site network. Of the 26 sites supported by AutoCruitment, 65% of sites randomized at least one AutoCruitment patient.
Patient flow also remained active through the end of enrollment, with additional AutoCruitment patients still progressing through the recruitment funnel when the study reached its enrollment needs and recruitment closed.
By combining scalable patient acquisition with data-informed qualification improvements and active Site and Patient Engagement, AutoCruitment helped increase randomizations while continually strengthening how patients were identified, qualified, and supported throughout the recruitment journey.
Learnings for Future Studies
Use funnel data to continuously strengthen patient qualification Reviewing patient failure reasons throughout the campaign identified opportunities to move important eligibility questions earlier in the recruitment process.
For this study, adding questions related to CPAP use, exclusionary medical conditions, and study participation requirements helped identify patients who were less likely to qualify before referral.
For future studies, routinely analyzing why patients fail at each stage of the funnel can help refine screening criteria throughout recruitment and reduce avoidable screening burden at the site level.
Bring objective clinical information into pre-screening when possible
Certain sleep apnea eligibility requirements may be difficult for patients to accurately self-report. In this study, information contained in medical records, including previous sleep study results, could have provided additional insight into a patient’s likelihood of qualifying.
For future studies with similar requirements, incorporating electronic medical record collection and review earlier in the qualification process could add another layer of screening before referral and help sites focus their resources on patients with a stronger likelihood of meeting study criteria.
Reduce the time between referral and patient contact
The campaign showed that delays in patient follow-up could contribute to patients becoming unreachable or losing interest before progressing further.
AutoCruitment recommends contacting referred patients within 24 hours whenever possible to maintain patient interest and improve the opportunity for patients to progress.
When site resources make rapid follow-up difficult, Patient Engagement or call center support can provide additional capacity to contact and re-engage patients on the site’s behalf.
Pair patient acquisition with active Site Engagement
Generating patient interest alone does not ensure enrollment. Continual communication with participating sites helped AutoCruitment monitor referral volume, reinforce patient follow-up, identify site challenges, and escalate issues throughout the campaign.
For studies requiring sustained recruitment, pairing patient acquisition with active Site Engagement can help ensure that qualified patient volume is effectively managed after referral and has the opportunity to translate into enrollment.
Ready to Strengthen Recruitment for Your Next Sleep Apnea Study?
Complex qualification requirements can make identifying the right sleep apnea patients challenging. AutoCruitment combines scalable patient acquisition, data-informed pre-screening, and active Site and Patient Engagement to help study teams improve patient qualification and move more patients toward enrollment.
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.