Direct-to-Patient Practices Improve Clinical Trials For Manufacturers

Researchers are increasingly seeing the benefit of a patient centric approach using the “direct-to-patient” model in order to overcome these challenges and move studies ahead more effectively. This approach not only puts the patients at the center of the trial experience, but is also designed to make life easier for them and their families as the trial goes on. Using this model, patients no longer have to interrupt their lives with trips to the hospital, which, in some cases, can be many miles away, for procedures that can take several hours to complete. They are not subject to the office hours of doctors and nurses, and are more in charge of their schedule in relation to the trial. In all ways, the patient is at the center of everything, a fact that makes patients easier to recruit — the trial does not have a negative impact on their day-to-day lives — and more likely to complete the study, negating the need to find new participants after the study is well underway. This model increases the operational efficiency of the study, allowing for faster completion times with more reliable results. As well, many countries are actively seeking ways to move more care into the local communities, so the direct-to-patient model is a perfect fit for those initiatives.