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Patient perspectives: Oncology preferences from patients and caregivers on trial technology
This summary looks at DCT patient and caregiver preferences regarding eConsent, telehealth, wearables, and other digital technologies in the area of oncology. There are differences noted between age, gender, and specific types of cancers.
During the pandemic, there was a surge in telehealth visits in medical oncology. Some of the telehealth benefits include convenience, the immediacy of results, news processing, family comfort, and privacy during the receipt of bad news. Although patient preference is individual in nature, there are some common themes. Telehealth has also increased access to medical care and clinical trials (Granberg, et al 2021).
A randomized study for patients undergoing radical prostatectomy showed that those who do accept telehealth visits report a positive view of telehealth. Another study shows that 92% of patients who had telehealth visits were satisfied with the visit. A survey reported that 32% of thyroid cancer patients reported video-based healthcare. Another advantage of telehealth noted by patients is the convenience, especially for short visits with a long commute. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large positive influence on video visits. These studies noted that only included patients who spoke English and accepted video visits (Granberg, et al 2021).


Medable joins CancerX alliance to further the Cancer Moonshot
Along with some of the best companies in the world, Medable is proud to join CancerX as a founding member. This alliance is co-hosted by the Moffitt Cancer Center and the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), alongside the Office for the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH).
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Medable perspective: Three points on FDA eCOA guidance
At the beginning of April 2023, the FDA published a draft of the fourth in a series of Guidance Documents entitled “Patient-Focused Drug Development: Incorporating Clinical Outcome Assessments (COA) Into Endpoints For Regulatory Decision-Making”. Once finalized these four documents will be combined and will replace the 2009 Guidance, “Patient-Reported Outcome Measures: Use in Medical Product Development to Support Labeling Claims”. Part 3, which was released in draft in June 2022, provides advice around the development and validation of new COA (including the modification of existing COA).
White papers, Case studies & reports


Use case: Implementing digital solutions to improve oncology trial experience & efficiency
A top 10 pharmaceutical company looked to Medable to streamline participant burden and enhance site and team experience in oncology trials, while establishing a scalable template for future trials in oncology and other areas.


Report: Medable named #1 Leader in DCT for second year by Everest Group
For the second consecutive year, Medable has been named Leader decentralized clinical trial products per the Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® assessment, which evaluates DCT products from 24 companies based on vision, capability and market impact.
On-Demand Webinars


DCT Digital Week: Creating the Digital Foundation for Scale in Clinical Development
Learn how sponsors and CROs can improve their clinical trial conduct by developing new strategies that create sustainable, repeatable, and effective clinical conduct.


eCOA Digital Week: An honest assessment of eCOAs from a site perspective
Joe Dustin, VP/GM of eCOA and Annie Hesslewood, Site & Patient adoption lead at Medable host an open discussion with a panel of sites and CRAs to provide a candid assessment of how upcoming changes in the eCOA landscape can reduce burden on participants and sites to maximize the chance of success in clinical trials.


Leverage novel options in oncology clinical trial design to reduce burden for patients and sites
Flo Mowlem, Senior Director, eCOA Science & Solutions shares insights on how electronic solutions, with a focus on patient-reported outcome (ePROs) can reduce burden on participants and sites to maximize the chance of success in oncology clinical trials.
Scientific Research

Assessing the financial value of decentralized clinical trials
Deployment of remote and virtual clinical trial methods and technologies, referred to collectively as decentralized clinical trials (DCTs), represents a profound shift in clinical trial practice. To our knowledge, a comprehensive assessment of the financial net benefits of DCTs has not been conducted

Development of a mobile health app (TOGETHERCare) to reduce cancer care partner burden: Product design study
Research looking at mobile apps and how they may provide a meaningful access point for all stakeholders for symptom management.
Guides


Back to Basics: What is a decentralized clinical trial?
In a decentralized clinical trial, part or all of the protocol occurs away from the primary study site. Instead of patients traveling, often repeatedly, to a central site for enrollment, consent, data collection or symptom monitoring, they can participate in telehealth visits from their homes, often using familiar technologies, like smartphones, tablets and wearables to transmit pertinent information. Even medications and devices can increasingly be delivered directly to a patient’s home, and a home visit from a health care professional can be arranged if necessary.


Back to Basics: What is clinical trial recruitment?
Patient recruitment is one of the most critical elements of a clinical trial. Without sufficient participation, studies will lack the power to demonstrate the statistical significance and efficacy of new treatments. Ultimately, poor patient enrollment will delay or prevent new therapies from reaching the market. Not only do such delays cost millions of dollars, but they also deprive patients of effective, potentially life-changing treatments.


Back to basics: What is patient screening?
Patient screening, a vital step in the clinical trial recruitment process, is when interested participants are assessed for their eligibility for a given trial using select inclusion/exclusion criteria. These criteria help characterize the target patient profile to ensure patient safety, better efficacy, and optimized signal detection.
Traditionally, patient screening was done in person at a clinical trial site. Due to the current digital revolution in healthcare, which has recently accelerated in response to global health events, the ability to use cloud-based software and digital qualification steps to optimize patient screening and enrollment brings innovation, convenience, and sophistication to this process.