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?

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