Technological enablers for successful decentralized clinical trials
The global pandemic has changed so many things. To keep their operations, various businesses had to digitize more or less their business processes. The clinical research industry makes no difference. In the last two years, we have witnessed the accelerated rise of decentralized clinical trials. Hospital limits and lockdowns have forced the clinical research industry to adopt virtual or hybrid clinical trial models. Unlike traditional clinical trials, which are location-focused, decentralized trials do not depend upon a central location. This enables participants from various locations to take part in the trial being monitored remotely. This is possible with the wide capabilities of technological solutions such as wearable measurement devices, electronic data capture tools, and clinical trial management systems (CTMS). With the help of technology, trial management staff can seamlessly manage the collection and processing of data from multiple locations and sources, remotely.
One of the main advantages of remote monitoring is the ease of capturing real-time data. Patients can easily log symptoms on their smartphones or personal laptops right when they appear instead of waiting for the next visit. Wearable devices and IoMT automatically collect and store health data in real-time. This enables clinical trial staff to always have up-to-date information about the treatment effect and take immediate action in case of a change in symptoms. Moreover, interpreting real-time data and acting according to it results in more patient-centric trials, streamlined processes, and more accurate trial outcomes.
Undoubtedly, decentralized clinical trials provide many benefits to both patients and clinical trial staff, and we expect more and more research organizations to adopt this model in the coming years. Still, some technological prerequisites need to be taken into account before executing a fully decentralized or hybrid clinical trial.
Use of centralized software for management of the study
Processing clinical data captured from various sources in different locations might be challenging without a centralized Clinical Trial Management System. A robust CTMS will provide research organizations with the ability to collect and analyze clinical data from various locations. Moreover, an end-to-end clinical trial management system helps organizations in the research industry to manage every aspect and phase of the clinical studies, as well as helps foster a patient-centric mindset from the start to the end of clinical trial service.
Clinicubes CTMS is one of the best software solutions on the market. It provides end-to-end clinical trial management for hospitals, site management organizations, and small CROs with a focus on budgeting, finance tracking, and reporting. The solution has the power to accommodate and systemize all clinical data from different location sites or digital sources into one centralized platform.
Patient-Facing Technologies
The patient experience is a key factor to the overall success of any clinical trial. Ensuring that trial participants can seamlessly access all needed trial information or assets is crucial when it comes to improving patient experience during the clinical trial. Providing patients with simple options for accessing trial information, user-friendly guideline materials, video visits, and direct-to-patient study supplies will help increase participants retention.
Another aspect that is important to mention, is the seamless sharing of patients’ feedback on the treatment and clinical trial overall. Timely feedback by patients means that clinical trial staff will be able to react timely to any situation.
Electronic data collection platforms are great tools for collecting real-time information and feedback from the clinical trial participants. Clinicubes CTMS has built-in integration with Metaforms, a no-code SaaS solution for electronic data capture. With its advanced capabilities for intelligent digitization of paper forms and documents, Metaforms provides streamlined data collection and faster processing of clinical data. In addition, it has a user-friendly interface and is very easy to navigate.
Health data capture
Wearable devices and sensors can continuously monitor and collect patient data in a convenient and non-invasive manner. Trial participants can use devices like smartwatches or skin patches to keep track of relevant measurements heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, electrocardiogram (ECG), and glucose levels, as well as movement-based metrics such as tremor, gait, and seizures.
Moreover, wearable devices can be connected to an electronic data collection platform or other eClinical software to capture and systemize the health data into one centralized system. Then clinical trial staff can easily access all needed information and analyze the outcomes.
At last, if you are looking to invest in a clinical trial management system for managing all processes in your virtual or hybrid clinical trial, Clinicubes CTMS in a combination with Metaforms is perfectly suited to complete this task. Clinicubes CTMS simplifies the conduct of clinical trials, provides streamlined processes, and ensures fast and smooth workflows, saving a lot of time and effort and avoiding errors. Its powerful integration with а sophisticated data collection platform like Metaforms simplifies the collection of health information and patient feedback and provides up-to-date access to all required clinical data.
Click here to learn more about what Clinicubes CTMS can do for your organization contact us or request a virtual demo today.
