Clinical Trials
Managing the drug pipeline poses an enormous challenge to efficiently move through costly and time-consuming clinical trials as rapidly as possible. Every delay in the race to market means millions of dollars in lost revenues for a blockbuster drug.
MedRespond is developing a series of programs featuring the company's patented Custom Conversation™ to meet this challenge and streamline the clinical trial process. By combining artificial intelligence and streaming media, MedRespond allows users to type in their questions, in their own words, and the system selects the pre-recorded video that best answers their questions. When new issues or questions arise, the system learns and adapts. Using this technology, healthcare providers can offer continuous support to patients during every phase of a clinical trial.
There are two components of the program that MedRespond proposes developing.
1. Patient Recruitment Program
MedRespond has worked with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Centers to create a patient education program for cancer clinical trials. The program is introduced to newly diagnosed cancer patients at the Center. It features oncologists, researchers and patients answering questions about what it is like to participate in a clinical trial, the safeguards that are in place to protect participants and the care that is provided during a clinical trial. Cancer patients and their families can use the program at the Center, or in the privacy of their own homes, around the clock and around the world.
As each patient explores MedRespond's program and asks their questions, a detailed log is created to provide invaluable insight into the questions patients raise. A sample report of information that can be captured is included in this proposal. Through MedRespond's experience in the cancer clinical trial program, we have developed a keen understanding of what issues concern patients - side effects, being treated like a guinea pig, finances, family, even parking. MedRespond also has experience in helping to carefully craft responses that meet the rigid requirements of the IRB.
The UPMC Cancer Center program can be viewed at: http://www.askmeaboutcancerclinicaltrials.com
MedRespond will work with you to create a customized Clinical Trial Patient Education Program featuring your medical experts and patients who have participated in clinical trials.
2. Patient Retention Program
Roughly 30% of clinical trial participants drop out before the study is concluded. Therefore, once a patient has been recruited, it is important that they be carefully supported throughout their trial participation.
One of the reasons for this drop out rate is a lack of ongoing communication with the patient during the trial, little assessment of their status, and failure to notify them of trial progress - all communication problems. Patients want to have continual access to professionals to answer their questions, assess their status and help them manage any problems or side effects that they experience. Traditional solutions for providing this support rely on medical staffing, a solution that is simply too costly.
MedRespond's technology enables providers to simulate this continuous support system to provide efficient, and effective support for clinical trial patients.
Each week, the patient will visit the clinical trial monitoring site. A video host will confirm that the patient is adhering to the study protocol and then conduct an online assessment, specific to that patient and trial. Certain responses could trigger further action - alerting the physician, requesting help, sending more information, or recommending dosage adjustments after consulting with the study physician. The system also might recommend how to prepare for the next clinic visit.
This communication link to the clinical trial patient will also be used to update participants about the status of their trial or advise them of any problems. Patients will truly feel as though their input is valued and that they are being carefully monitored and kept apprised as the trial proceeds, something that happens all too rarely in today's clinical trial process.