Clinical Research Sites Struggle With Increasing Trial Complexity yet most depend on, Google (or other search sites) as the primary information tool

By Dr. Matthew Watson

A new survey of 500+ clinical research site professionals outlines the impact of complex, clinical trials in clinical trial sites. The survey focused on 3-year trial trends and found key challenges in subject recruitment/retention and tracking and reporting data. Increased complexity also impacted trial financials– especially negotiating contracts and managing profitability.

The December, 2010 survey was conducted among investigators, study coordinators and other clinical site professionals from large organizations, such as Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins, hospitals like Rush Presbyterian and the Hospital for Sick Children, as well as multi-specialty and private practices. Clinical Research Site Training (CRST), conducted the survey.

Analysis of the survey findings shows that

66% of large organizations report an increase in trials conducted
60% of trial sites report increasing difficulty in managing trial profitability
40% report increasing difficulty in recruiting and retaining subjects
Training remains a major issue, even though over 50% report an increase in training
80%+ of nurses want more QA training
60%+ of all respondents want more FDA Audits training

The survey also explored sites’ Web use for work information. In spite of increased specialized Web content about the clinical research site “world”, awareness and usage were both relatively low.

Google (or other search sites) was the primary information tool
Only the NIH and Clinical Trial Network sites have over 50% awareness among all site professionals
Usage of major specialized sites averaged less than 40% for nurses and less than 20% for doctors

CRST suggest that clinical research sites should:

Increase training on financial management, site QA, subject recruitment/retention and FDA inspections;
Manage the convergence of increased and more complex trials by improving both new staff recruitment and experienced staff retention;
Reach out on the Web for new/improved ways of working from both formal information sites and clinical research site communities.”

Full results of the survey are available on the CRST website http://www.crstnet.com