Point-of-Care Perspectives from PatientPoint

3 Ways to Boost Clinical Trial Participation in Your Practice

by PatientPoint

Clinical trials are the leading source of medical breakthroughs and are a key step in discovering new ways to detect, diagnose and reduce the risk of disease. Clinical research has led to pivotal advances in breast cancer treatment, heart disease prevention and in countless other areas.

Despite the myriad benefits of clinical trials, recent estimates show that as few as 4 percent of Americans participate. And the downstream impact is staggering: 90 percent of U.S. trials never reach their recruitment goals, and nearly a third never enroll a single qualified patient.

Here are three ways to help boost participation in your practice and help bring tomorrow’s therapies to patients today:

1. Talk to your patients early and often about clinical trials

According to a recent survey, 86 percent of Americans believe that healthcare professionals should discuss clinical trials with patients. Yet nearly three-quarters of Americans have never had a conversation with their provider about medical research.

Help reverse this trend: Don’t wait to discuss clinical trials with your patients until they are diagnosed with a serious disease for which there is no marketable treatment. Waiting to educate patients about trials can leave them feeling anxious and rushed as they sort through information and do their own research. By talking about clinical trials early and often during routine visits, you can reduce patient stress while increasing participation—a win-win for all.

2. Leverage the physical spaces in your practice

While physicians play a critical role in clinical trial education and awareness, so do the various physical touchpoints throughout your office. Think about your waiting room, exam room and even back-office spaces. These are all powerful places to equip patients, caregivers and staff with information about the importance of trials and how to find one.

Our recent partnership with clinical trial search and placement engine Antidote Technologies is designed to drive more patients to enroll in clinical trials within the influential point-of-care setting—a space we know patients trust.

By teaming up with Antidote, we’ve placed easy-to-understand, actionable clinical trials education for patients and physicians in the waiting room, exam room and/or physician back office of more than 7,600 primary care and subspecialty practices nationwide. No matter the space, the call to action is the same: text MATCH to 317-597-6020 or visit antidote.me/patientpoint to begin a clinical trial search via Antidote Match™ today.

3. Provide additional tools and success stories

Telling patients how to search for clinical trials is only the first step. In order to be truly effective, offer additional information about trials throughout your practice that cover frequently-asked questions on costs, side effects and other issues. It’s also critically important to show patients success stories from fellow patients who participated in clinical trials.

The connection between patient awareness and participation in clinical research is undeniable. Similarly, the role of the healthcare provider as a key influencer in a patient’s decision to enroll in a trial cannot be underestimated. PatientPoint is passionate about helping providers start the conversation about clinical trials with patients before they need them, with the goal of boosting participation rates and ensuring the future success of medical research.

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