Patient Centricity in Clinical Trials: Best Practices for Improved Outcomes
While clinical research has come a long way in recent years, a trial design still has several hurdles. One of these involves patient centricity.
What steps can pharmaceutical firms take to ensure patient voices are heard while still achieving desired results? Let us look at this question in much more detail.
Patient Centricity and Clinical Trials
First, define patient-centricity. As the term suggests, this concept involves molding clinical trial design around the needs of participants. The primary goal is to encourage participant participation while meeting recruitment targets.
However, patient-centric approaches also have psychological components. By ensuring a positive overall participants experience, the clinical trial is more likely to result in a positive outcome for both participants and clinicians. (1)
As mentioned previously, this strategy can also help increase patient recruitment statistics because trial participants are more likely to relate to positive encounters with others (such as potential candidates for a drug development campaign).
What Challenges Do Pharmaceutical Companies Face?
Research sites that perform clinical studies face two main obstacles to patient engagement (2):
- The online medical community has now caused many to opt for self-treatment instead of consulting with a professional; resulting in less demand for specific pharmacological products.
- Clinicians often cannot communicate with the patient population in understandable terms.
It is now clear to see that clinical trials must adopt a more proactive and “human” mentality sooner rather than later.
Five Ways To Improve Patient Centricity In Clinical Trials
As a result, there are many approaches to ensuring higher patient engagement. These should address pre-trial screenings, trials, and aftercare concerns. Five useful recommendations are listed below (3):
- Including the patient in important decision-making processes.
- Streamlining onboarding programs to ensure higher recruitment levels.
- Curating content (such as the description of a certain drug) that can be understood by participants.
- Recognizing and supporting any other health concerns patients may have during the trial.
- Offering additional follow-up consultations and encouraging patient input at every stage of the trial.
The results of these efforts can be broken down into a handful of advantages. First, an increased degree of clarity will reduce patient burden (the possible impact of a trial on unrelated aspects of its participants’ lives).
Secondly, a greater degree of patient education will likely result in fewer questions when providing informed consent. In other words, fewer participants will “back out” of an upcoming trial.
Perhaps most importantly, appreciating the patient’s perspective is an excellent way to increase the chances that the clinical trial process will be followed and that participants adhere to the associated guidelines. This is obviously crucial when evaluating and interpreting post-trial outcomes (4).
The Evolving Role Of The Patient In Clinical Trials
To be clear, patient-centric trials are nothing new. Most industry experts agree that its roots can be traced back to studies associated with the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s (5). The main difference is that participants have greater access to information than ever before. Therefore, clinicians will need to adopt an approach that is accommodating and engaging while still focusing on overall accuracy.
Patient Centricity: A Goal For Clinical Trials?
It only stands to reason that obtaining patient input is one of the most effective ways to ensure clear trial results (regardless of the exact outcome). Furthermore, research sites capable of hearing their patients’ voices are much more likely to obtain the required number of participants.
Although pharmacology continues to advance at a breakneck pace, it is equally crucial to remember that the patient experience is just as relevant. We can now appreciate why the medical community places a lot of importance on patient-centricity.
Sources:
- https://www.tigahealth.com/why-is-patient-centricity-important-in-healthcare/
- https://innovara.com/patient-centricity-challenges-and-solutions/
- https://www.smartpatient.eu/blog/digital-patient-support-pharma-s-5-steps-to-patient-centricity
- https://www.medidata.com/en/life-science-resources/medidata-blog/how-patient-centricity-benefits-patients-clinical-outcomes-and-drug-development/
- https://clariness.com/a-short-history-of-patient-centricity/

Leah Thorpe is the founder and chief editor of OEM Imaging, a blog dedicated to simplifying complex topics related to Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) imaging for a broad audience. With a passion for making technical information accessible, Leah and her team provide readers with insightful and easy-to-understand content on various aspects of OEM imaging, from product photography tips to understanding the differences between OEM and aftermarket products.