Consultations are an untapped trial recruitment opportunity, according to tech firm IllumiCare, which is betting that a new app can help inform potential participants about studies.
Birmingham, Alabama-based IllumiCare launched Trials App this month with the aim of letting physicians know whether a patient they are seeing meets the referral criteria for an institutional clinical trial.
“Meetings between doctors and patients provide a critical opportunity to determine which clinical trials may serve as a therapeutic option for a patient, yet historically, this information is either hard to access or is provided through general, obtrusive alert systems,” said IllumiCare's chief medical officer Mukul Mehra, M.D.
“The Trials App presents patient-specific clinical trials for consideration within the clinician’s workflow, streamlining the process from awareness to enrolment for providers, study coordinators and patients,” Mehra said.
The app—which runs on IllumiCare’s “smart ribbon” platform—works within the EHR system to alert providers about trials matching their specific patient’s criteria at the optimum time to have this conversation. In addition, it allows trial coordinators to control referral criteria and sort data to match criteria for reports and to prioritize studies.
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By providing this oversight, the app process makes it easier for coordinators to track a patients’ journey within the recruitment process, allowing them to tailor communication and increase participation, according to IllumiCare CEO G.T. LaBorde.
“Data shows that patients who enroll in a clinical trial referred by their provider have higher enrollment, participation and completion than someone who finds the trial on their own," LaBorde said. “This app will amplify these conversations between provider and patient, increasing patient recruitment while expediting it.”
CROs and sponsors can leverage this point-of-care technology to enroll and close their studies faster, the CEO added.
The app launch was led by IllumiCare Chief Strategy Officer Ralph Keiser, who joined the firm in April. According to the appointment announcement, Keiser will now focus on broadening the platform's capabilities and expanding product support.