Patient recruiting is the most important part of a clinical trial. Each clinical trial has specific requirements for patients. If a trial is unable to recruit enough patients to complete the clinical trial, it can derail the entire project. It is not enough to recruit patients, they must remain in the study. Proper patient selection increases the retention rate.
Clinical trial recruitment is a multiple staged process, and each step has its own difficulties.
1. Patient recruitment includes feasibility studies and media analysis to determine the best way to target the study population.
2. Healthcare information specialists conduct patient pre-screening, gathering data from study candidates to determine if they meet study qualifications. The internet and telephone are often used in the pre-screening process.
3. Convert pre-screened applicants into study participants.
4. Use retention planning to ensure that study participants continue to show up for study visits.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Use a patient recruitment agency
There are agencies that specialize in patient recruitment for clinical drug trials. Because this is all that they do, they have the advantage of knowing how to effectively pre-screen patients, find study participants for difficult to fill trials and maximize participant retention.
I recommend: ThreeWire and
Inclinix are both established patient recruitment agencies. Using an established firm eases the stress of patient recruitment. Clinical trials rely heavily on these agencies to fill their studies.
Purchase patient recruitment advertising on the radio, in magazines and newspapers and on television
Clinical trials patient recruitment is tedious. To increase the likelihood of filling a study, cast a wide net. Media advertising allows you to reach people that would otherwise know nothing about clinical drug trials.
I recommend: A patient recruitment advertising company, such as
Clinical Trial Media, has experience targeting specific demographics and conducting media analysis to receive the best return on your investment. If you prefer to handle the media purchasing yourself, there are
guidelines for determining what type of media will best meet your needs.
Use a phone screening service to simplify patient recruiting
The most work intensive part of developing a clinical trial is patient recruitment. Clinical trials are necessary for drug approval, so it is important to expedite the process as much as possible. A phone screening service narrows the field of candidates. The participants that pass this pre-screening are more likely to convert from candidates to study participants.
I recommend: PhoneScreen provides over the telephone screening for prospective participants in clinical trials. Pre-screening is a specialized skill, and you should be well versed in the
requirements if you choose to do the pre-screening yourself.
Find patients that are actively looking for clinical trial recruitment
There are two types of people that actively look for clinical trials, the ill, searching for a new type of treatment, and the healthy, looking for a stipend.
I recommend: If you are looking for people to fill a clinical trial, post information on your trial at
Clinical Connection.
Center Watch also provides a listing service that people seeking clinical trials can visit.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- If you choose to hire a patient recruiting agency, inquire about their average per patient cost.
- Clinical trials patient recruitment is big business. Verify that the agency you work with is HIPPA compliant, and any information about your subjects remains with your company.
- You can use patient recruitment agencies for some or all of the study set up. You can handle initial recruitment, and contract the patient retention, or have an outside company handle pre-screening.
The official source of Patient Recruitment for Clinical Drug Trials is
the Patient Recruitment for Clinical Drug Trials page at Business.com
Related Resources from Business.com
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