Imagine this scenario: Your clinical trial seems to be running smoothly and everything appears to be going according to the plan. Then all of a sudden, without warning, something strange starts happening. Patients begin to drop out of the study, putting the overall success of the clinical trial in jeopardy!

Why do patients typically decide to quit a study? What measures can be taken in order to prevent this from happening? These are the topics that we will explore today.

• The clinical trial becomes too difficult

Clinical trials require a lot of time and energy from patients. They are a big commitment, and should not be thought of lightly. From scheduling visits to traveling great distances, the number of hurdles that patients must jump over can become daunting at times; resulting in the patient giving up on the study. In order to prevent this from happening, we suggest making the study as convenient as possible and taking a “patient-centered” approach to the trial. By minimizing the burdens on the patient, you will maximize the retention rate of the study. Reducing the number of overall visits, selecting sites that are in easy-to-access locations, and offering flexible appointments are just a few ways to improve patient retention.

• They just plain forget

Sometimes, a patient may not even know that they have dropped out! Clinical trials can take months, even years. Forgetting an appointment is something that happens very often. It is important to keep the subjects engaged and interested in the study. Commons ways to do this include advertising, following-up, and even adding small incentives to keep them motivated.

• No change in their condition

If a patient is experiencing improvement in their condition, of course they will likely stick with the trial. But what about if they are experiencing nothing at all? Even more, what if their condition is worsening? People who are not seeing any results are at a high risk of dropping out of a trial. They may believe that the medicine being tested is ineffective. Also, patients in studies that involve the risk of receiving a placebo may just assume that they are not taking a working medicine, persuading them to drop out of the study early. This is one of the hardest drop out causes to counter. We suggest educating the patient about the clinical trial beforehand. Explain to them that, even though they may not see results, they are contributing to a study that can be very valuable to finding a solution to the condition in study.

It is important to keep patients engaged, as well as making them feel valued and critical to the success of a study. At CROèe Global, we are experts in the field of patient retention. So contact us now if you have any studies that may require our services!