Ask both the greenhorn and the seasoned medical practitioner alike, and they will both tell you that even on a good day dealing with clinical trials can be a huge headache. According to Medable, one of the best ways to get your patients engaged in a clinical trial platform is to make the process as streamlined as possible. You will need to understand some of the hurdles as well, such as the following:
Difficulty in Meeting Timelines
Often the biggest hurdle involved in any type of clinical trial would simply be meeting the tight deadlines. Indeed, the National Institutes of Health has described how at least 80% of these clinical trials totally fail to meet their timelines.
Difficulty in Acquiring Enough Patients
Another hurdle that your clinical trial could encounter would be simply in having a rough time finding enough patients to participate in the first place. Thus, it is not only difficult to meet the timeline; it also can be difficult in having your clinical trial even get off the ground.
Difficulty in Understanding the Design Process of the Trial
This usually occurs on behalf of those planning the clinical trial rather than those participating in it. It generally begins when you place an unnecessary restrictive inclusion on the patients, thereby reducing the number of patients that are even able to participate.
Of course, after reading all of this, you are probably wondering how you would go about improving your patient recruitment process for your clinical trials. Is it difficult? Is it a terrible elephant in the room that no one ever talks about? The good news is that the answer to these questions is no. Here are some pointers:
Have a Full Understanding of Any Regulations
If there is one thing that would put the brakes on your clinical trial, it would be not fully understanding the regulations involved. You need to be aware of just what rules might be surrounding the production and completion of your clinical trial data. A good place to start would either be the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), or the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA).
Plan Your Budget Adequately
Budget planning is also a must. You will need to allow for such things as advertising, partnering, and any incentives for your patients.
Allow For Conduct Feasibility
Before your company allows for any type of conduct feasibility, they should have a full understanding of the region and the patients that are available to be recruited. Moreover, there are some instances where a feasibility questionnaire could be in order as a way to properly gauge the chances of the success of your trial.
All of these are some of the steps you should take in order to make your clinical trial a success. However, if you have never administered a clinical trial before, then researching how others have done it would be a godsend to you. Additionally, having someone who was more experienced act as a mentor to you would be a tremendous step in the right direction as well.
