For years, clinical research sites have been vocal about the technological challenges they face conducting trials. Obstacles such as multiple disparate systems per trial, an abundance of passwords, lack of interoperability, and other issues all showcase how technology can be as significant a hindrance as it is a boon. As a recent Forbes article suggests, if clinical research technology doesn’t empower sites, it risks slowing down the entire trial.
Eighteen months ago, Medable sought to prevent these types of issues from impacting our customers’ trials, with the creation of the Site Success department.
Headed by Annie Hesslewood, Patient & Site, Global Adoption Lead with over 30+ years of experience, the idea of Site Success is to create a seamless adoption of Medable technology at the site level so that it doesn’t become a stumbling block or challenge.
To make this idea a reality, Annie built out a team of specialists, who have over 100+ years combined in executing clinical research from a site or study perspective. Fleshing out Anine’s team is Ana Puebla, a Clinical Scientist with extensive CRO experience, Alisha Lutat, who brings years of site experience, Barbara Sorrentino, a former Clinical Research Associate (CRA), and Diamond Amil who has years of experience as a site coordinator.
“We can have the best technology in the world, but if it’s not adopted, we’re dead ducks in the water.”
Knowing this, their mission is to create a comprehensive understanding of the study workflow and how it relates to Medable’s application. This is done by engaging with the CRAs to ensure that they have a good handle on the study workflow and applications and helps ensure smoother adoption and reinforcement on a site level.
Annie’s vision for the department is both remarkable and admirable. “If I were to achieve 100% success in what I do, I would eliminate my job. It may not be likely, but our goal is to make technological adoption simple, seamless, and forgettable.“
This vision is no doubt a tall order, but one that she and her team see as both realistic and necessary.
“If we go back 30 years to the beginning of electronic data capture, we had teams inputting paper forms into digital systems. Today, the paper is gone and EDC is standard. This is my hope with digital and decentralized technology, to make the next generation a boring standard.”
To date, her teams’ work has produced increased confidence and understanding of the Medable platform for sites, a reduction in helpdesk tickets, and successful trial startups. In a recent example, the Site Success team was credited for a 27% reduction in customer support tickets, showcasing the effectiveness of engaging sites proactively and empathetically.
“We engaged the CRAs prior to the investigator meeting and were able to travel to the meeting, face-to-face, as well as appearing remotely. From May to September, we attended meetings, ran presentations of the technology, and set up a booth for CRAs and investigators where they could use the technology in advance to get a good feel for it.”
Adding to their success is the impact that the team has on the Medable product. Annie’s team continually works with the Medable product team, creating a feedback loop between herself, the sites, and the people that create Medable’s site facing-technology. This relationship has brought out new features, new testing environments, new user permissions for sites prior to study startup, and has enabled Medable to pressure test many types of trials to see how they’d fare, prior to them going live.
Looking ahead, the Site Success goal for 2023 can be summed up with one word - more.
“We want to do more meetings than the last 18 months, impacting more sites, more users, and reducing the amount of time needed for sites to get up and running on their studies.”
To learn more about Annie, the Site Success team, or our offerings and services at Medable, click here to speak with a Medable subject matter expert.