How do you define what a patient-centered clinical trial means?

Craig Lipset, member of the Advisory Board for eClinical Summit, joined us recently for an eClinical Podcast.  He shared many of his insights and opinions with us regarding the current state of digital and clinical trials.

Today we feature this question: How do you define what a patient-centered clinical trial means?

Craig's response: Well, I would say there are two aspects to really being patient-centric. The first is around our ability to engage with patients in planning and designing our studies. We can reach out to patients and patient groups and gather their insights on end-point relevance and feasibility. Patients have a voice and they want to share that input in how we are designing our studies.


The second is more around our ability to engage with patients in a research process or in the trial. And this is where we are looking at all those touchpoints with a patient in our study. Historically, clinical trials have been very investigator-centric. They are hub and spokes. We go to investigators and only recruit patients that are in geographic proximity of those sites. And we ask the patients to go in and out of those sites, but it is a burden on those patients. But, we are demonstrating an ability now to actually place the patient at the center of the trial and use new technologies, new processes to enable the trial to come to the patient. There is a virtual trial that we are piloting at Pfizer, which is one realization of that vision.

To hear Craig's full interview and view the transcript, download it here.

For more information on the eClinical Summit, taking pace September 19-21, 2011 with the Clinical Business Expo, download the brochure here.