ERT, a global solution provider for high-quality patient safety and efficacy endpoint data collection, has been named a preferred provider for the administration of the EuroQol Group’s EQ-5D patient reported outcome (PRO) assessment. Specifically, VIAPhone, ERT’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, has been approved to capture both the EQ-5D-3L and the EQ-5D-5L versions of the quality of life assessment. 

The EQ-5D is a commonly used, standardized instrument for measuring health outcomes during the clinical development of new medical products.  Both the EQ-5D-3L and EQ-5D-5L versions address health-related quality of life on the same five dimensions—mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Users of the EQ-5D-3L can choose from three levels of severity, whereas users of the EQ-5D-5L can choose from five different severity levels. 

The EuroQol Group—the copyright owner of the scale—awarded preferred provider status to ERT based on ERT’s established process for ensuring compliant and high-quality electronic implementations of this scale.

“We are pleased that ERT can now offer its customers a reliable option for capturing important health outcomes information via IVR administration of the EQ-5D,” said Gerben Bakker, User Support Officer, EuroQol Group. “This offering will enable biopharmaceutical researchers to evaluate whether patients’ health states are impacted by new medical treatments.”

VIAPhone is one of ERT’s multiple electronic solutions that improve the collection of clinical outcome assessment (COA) data in clinical research. VIAPhone offers significant advantages over paper-and-pencil administration of the scale, including improvements in patient compliance, data quality and increased trial efficiencies.

“Being named a preferred provider verifies that the scientific foundation upon which our electronic COA solutions are built meets the high standards set by EuroQol,” said Bob Young, executive vice president, COA Solutions, ERT.