The future of clinical trials will be about giving clinical trial participants the optionality they deserve. That’s what being patient-centric is all about and exactly what we will be discussing with sponsor counterparts at the Patients as Partners Conference on Advancing Patient Optionality. When thinking about the ideal vision of DCTs and hybrid studies, we must be honest about laying out not just the ideal benefits of DCTs, but the serious risks and concerns that come along with them as well. At ProofPilot, we approach DCTs with a critical (and even skeptical) eye, recognizing the challenges that come with operationalizing them, and the importance of striking the right balance between patient optionality and maintaining the quality and rigor of the trial. Recent events in the industry have shown that there is real risk around DCT methods and that we must never sacrifice quality.
At the conference, my panelists and I will tackle some critical questions, such as how to make decisions about the use of DCT methods, how to include patients in the planning process, and how to support patients who can't use technology. We’ll also explore how to coordinate the different options available to patients without introducing bias or error.
As we move forward with DCTs, it's important to ensure that we're not sacrificing quality for the sake of convenience or speed. We need to carefully consider which trials are even fit for a significant number of DCT methods and subsequently decide which elements of the trial can be done remotely versus at the site, not forgetting to measure the impact of those decisions on the management of personnel in the overall trial or the day-to-day patient experience, particularly if they still need to come into the site regularly.
This is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the latest innovations in clinical trial design and to hear from experts in the field. We'll be discussing how to appreciate the day-to-day lives of patients, how to create better synergies between internal DCT groups and clinical teams, and how to ensure that the data coming from the site and data coming digitally are equivalent.
At ProofPilot, we're committed to helping our clients navigate the challenges of DCTs and to ensuring that patient optionality remains a top priority in clinical trial design. We welcome the skepticism and concerns around DCTs, as it allows us to have open and honest conversations about the best way forward for the industry. If you’ll be at the Patients as Partners conference this year, I’d love to hear from you!