My ten years as a clinical research coordinator (CRC) moved so quickly that, to this day, it seems like the whole decade happened in a year. Each morning, as I walked into the hospital, I’d be thinking about which participants I was going to see and how I thought they were doing, what tests had to be run, whether the data was being accurately recorded, whether my sponsors and IRB were happy, and so much more. My job was to be watchful on many levels. No detail was too small.
I paid particular attention to the mental toll taken on my participants, their families, and care partners in each trial. It wasn’t just the fatigue of logistics—multiple visits and labs or filling out so many forms. It was also about keeping their spirits up and their faith strong that the massive effort was worth it. In the back of my mind, I would think about the statistic my entire team knew: 30% of participants drop out of clinical trials. We didn’t want that to be our participants.
I also made sure to pay attention to my sponsors. Were they getting the data they needed in the format they wanted? Would the IRB and Quality teams be satisfied with the job we were doing? Then, there was my study team. Everyone was running fast but in different directions. Were we in sync? Team alignment was a very important part of my job and a very important part of serving our participants in the best way possible.
With so much to shoulder, it is no wonder that the CRC turnover rate is estimated to be between 24 and 29%. There’s a lot to manage, and you don’t want to fall short. It’s easy to burn out. It was in my last year of being a CRC, as I was completing my master’s degree and had between 10 and 15 active studies to manage, that I made a change. I turned to technology for an assist, which also became part of my master’s thesis. It was eye-opening and changed my direction. I eventually joined ClinOne.
My thesis and experience as a CRC left me thinking about the magic wand that I wished we could wave that would make the job easier.
If I Could Wave a Magic Wand, this is What I’d Want
For years, I carried a three-inch binder packed with participant-related documents from one unit of the hospital to the next and then back to my office across campus. It was burdensome. Fortunately, those days are mostly behind us, but there are other challenges we need to fix. If I could wave my wand, I’d like:
- Continued streamlining of information: Getting rid of the binder was step one. Managing different vendor systems for different applications and across multiple simultaneous studies is step two.
- Finding new ways to save CRCs time: Data automation and seamless document access can free up valuable time. Even just ten spare minutes can be redirected towards other tasks, such as recruitment.
- Improved communication: With my participants, my team, my sponsors, and the community at large.
- Improved medication adherence: This is where the rubber meets the road in clinical trials. In my experience, the majority of the time, we used paper logs, which were particularly unreliable.
- Consistent A+ rating for study audits: This is easier said than done and oh so important.
ClinOne Understands the Need for the Wand
I joined the ClinOne team because I felt they understood my challenges as a CRC, and they were in the process of working to make the job easier. So far, I’ve seen:
- ClinOne Core: A one-stop hub for trial sites, serving as an intuitive repository for study documents. It provides quick access to protocol inclusion/exclusion criteria, vendor contact information, and key study personnel details. It also features an online messaging forum for essential study updates. Best of all, it’s right at your fingertips. This will save CRCs the hassle of searching through emails, manuals, or slide decks for information. It also means no more creating separate spreadsheets to organize the information.
- Consent Management Capabilities: ClinOne offers eConsent services, ensuring flexibility in obtaining consent, whether it’s done in person or remotely. This feature is valuable for regulatory compliance and for maintaining a centralized consent repository. It means human errors, such as missing signatures, are much less likely to occur. It also allows the repurposing of documents for study sponsors or site monitors. The CRC will have much fewer consent nightmares and feel less stress about meeting the documentation needs.
- Diary Compliance Services: ClinOne offers services that enable sites and participants to accurately record medication intake simply through SMS messaging reminders.
- Patient RIde: ClinOne’s partnership with Uber Health ensures that participants have a convenient means of transportation to and from their study visits. This is a game-changer for sites located in metropolitan areas where hospital parking is limited. At my site, parking was $7/day for a validated ticket for participants and $70 for visitors!
The Bottom Line for Me
I loved my work as a CRC. It’s a hard job and rewarding at the same time. Based on my experiences, I believe offering sensible technology solutions can provide a big assist that will benefit participants and the team like. That’s how ClinOne sees it, and it’s one of the reasons I work here.
