Engaging healthcare providers as research facilitators

Contrary to popular belief, the main reasons physicians are reluctant to re­fer patients to clinical trials have noth­ing to do with fear of losing them to other providers or a lack of knowledge about in­dustry-sponsored clinical research. A new Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD) study found that healthcare providers (HCPs) have a higher-than-expected level of familiarity with clinical research and willingness to refer patients into trials. A significant ma­jority of physicians also reported they are often the primary source of information about clinical trials for their patients and that they actively support their patients’ participation in research.

Acknowledging the dual enrollment challenge

When a sponsor or CRO is forced to throw out data or write off an en­tire study, millions of dollars are at stake. These are the high stakes that char­acterize the dual enrollment challenge. Enrolling just one ineligible subject al­ready in a simultaneous study could cost a sponsor tens of thousands of dollars or more. When dual enrollment goes un­detected and the entire study must be re­peated, millions of dollars, and more im­portantly time, is wasted. Dual enrollment is often unmeasured and considered by many to be much less common than it once was. However, current data reveal it to be a very real risk that is still widespread.

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