Going over the PM processes for clinical trial management in lecture, I started thinking about technology used to optimize clinical trials. From enrollment and patient consents, to monitoring, I know a lot of hospitals still use paper. So what should clinical trials in the 21st century look like? I personally think that hospitals should move away from paper and use technology for all aspects of clinical trials: Initiating, Planning, Executing, Closing, and of course, Monitoring and Controlling.
There was a press release in the New York Times in March that Covance entered into a strategic technology agreement with GSK in which GSK will use Covance’s Xcellerate® Monitoring, Xcellerate Insights, and Xcellerate Clinical Data Hub solutions in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. I think this just shows how technology and big data aren’t just a focus in silicon valley but could be a big market and potential revenue steam for products designed to optimize clinical trials.
What are your thoughts on clinical trials and technology?
nytimes/research/stocks/news/press_release.asp?docTag=201802281640BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW6539&feedID=600&press_symbol=183244
The medical field has seen great advancement in creating digital networks for patient information. I think a similar system can be put in place for project management. Many components of a project are now outsorced including clinical trials. Keeping digital documentation would be easier to transfer each part of the project from one source to the next the same way you can have your medical history transferred electronically to any doctor you see. This would also provide an advantage within a company that assigns different portions of the project to different departments.
I don't believe any information is transferable from 1 trial to another and patient data protection laws make using it without consent impossible. Technology can be used however to expedite patient selection using digital filtering based on responses similar to job recruiting sites and resumes. Certain psychological tests can be done to reduce for patient infidelity when using the device.(not following direction when not in the hospital etc). Digital surveys outside of the ones done in person can be conducted to learn more about the patient experience with the device outside of the functionality and compatibility of the device in or on the person.
I do agree that the monitoring phase is the most likely phase for technology to help since you can access logs irt as opposed to when a notebook is handed in or ensure that all questions that they need to answer in each log are answered as well as have automated reminders. The biggest challenge in actually incorporating technology in monitoring is the safety of information and the use of that information.
