Clinical Trials and the Need for Virtual Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are medical studies performed on people and healthcare professionals use them for evaluating interventions. As professionals roll out the latest medical interventions, there is a need to test if the interventions are safe and effective for the population.
For instance, when a pacemaker is available on the market, professionals should consider the patient’s plight first. The machine should operate at an optimal efficiency level to accomplish its purpose.
The medical field relies on clinical research to create new methods for people to treat their conditions with a higher success rate. Say a patient has rheumatoid arthritis, and a group of doctors has released a medicine regimen that could be revolutionary for the disease. Doctors must conduct clinical trials to ensure the regimen is safe and effective.
Virtual epro clinical trials can promote significant digital changes in clinical research methodology by strengthening and fostering a patient-centric environment. These solutions consider the countless advantages of technology, cutting-edge software, gadgets, online social networking sites, advanced robotics, machine learning, and many more.
Virtual clinical trials unquestionably use telehealth/digital technology to conduct secure and superior clinical trial research by including virtual healthcare monitoring, wearable medical devices, remote SDV, etc. These virtual trials are convenient, affordable, and patient-focused.
What is ePRO in Clinical Trials?
EPRO, or electronic patient-reported outcomes, refers to using electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets to collect patient-reported data in clinical trials. These data collection initiatives can include information on symptoms, quality of life, and drug administration. EPRO is a type of electronic data capture (EDC) that allows for real-time data collection and can be vital in various disease areas, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Benefits of Using ePRO for Patients and Clinicians
One of the main benefits of using ePRO in clinical trials is its convenience for trial participants. Patients can easily complete electronic diaries on their own device rather than filling out paper diaries. Such convenience can increase patient engagement and lead to more accurate data collection. Electronic patient data collection could mean the patients or research team members submit the data themselves to the site staff.
Using ePRO can also improve the patient experience in clinical trials. Electronic diaries can allow for more detailed and frequent data collection, providing a complete picture of the patient’s health-related quality of life. Additionally, ePRO can monitor drug administration and provide real-time feedback to patients and site staff.
Another benefit of ePRO is the increased data quality it can provide. An electronic diary can be programmed to prompt patients for missing information or flag any data inconsistencies. Electronic data collection can help improve patient data’s accuracy and completeness.
How to Set Up an ePRO Trial
To set up an ePRO trial, the first step is to choose an ePRO solution from one of the many ePRO vendors available. Every system should be cultured to complete a specific task on the trial and should be well integrated with the EDC system.
Next, electronic diaries and other EPRO tools must be developed and tested. Development and testing could include programming the diaries to prompt patients for specific information and setting up alerts for missing data.
Since most of the ePRO tools are emerging technology, site staff and patients have to get information on how to use the electronic diaries and ePRO tools. Therefore, training is important at this implementation stage. Training can include providing instructions on how to navigate the diaries, how to input data and how to troubleshoot any issues that may arise.
The Future of ePRO in the Clinical Field
The use of ePRO in clinical trials by medical researchers will continue to grow as more patients and clinicians become comfortable with electronic data collection. The convenience and improved data quality offered by ePRO leads to greater patient engagement and accurate clinical outcome assessments.
Today, many people use mobile devices which will make ePRO more accessible to patients. In addition, provisioned devices specifically for clinical trials, which are more secure and compliant, will continue to become more prevalent.
ePRO tools will keep evolving, improving patient experiences and data quality during research. As technology advances, ePRO will likely become a critical tool for collecting patient-reported outcome in clinical trial.
