6 Effective Strategies to Boost Patient Recruitment in Dermatology and Rheumatology Trials

Table of Contents

1. Corrective Data Mining
2. Best Practices to Accelerate Recruitment and Local Advertising
3. Consider Using Imagery in Pre-Screening
4. Digital Advertisement Campaigns and Their Impact
5. Secondary Screening
6. Recruitment Start Date

In the ever-evolving landscape of clinical trials, patient recruitment strategies stand as a critical component. The ability to effectively and efficiently recruit patients can significantly impact the success of a trial. This article explores various strategies and tools to enhance dermatology and rheumatology patient recruitment.  

1. Corrective Data Mining 

Corrective database mining significantly contributes to shortening timelines from study initiation to site initiation visit. Sites that understand their patients’ interests and the reliability required to participate in a clinical trial can mine their database to set up a pool of potential patients prior to study activation. This approach aids in faster screening and enrollment from the very beginning. 

2. Best Practices to Accelerate Recruitment and Local Advertising

Several tools have proven effective in accelerating the recruitment process. Providing sites with the ICD-10 codes, medication information, and inclusion/exclusion criteria allows them to pull a query of potential patients from their database. Tools like doctor-to-patient letters can be mass emailed to patients. Additionally, links to online screeners can automate patient screening, especially beneficial when a site lacks recruitment staff. 

Local advertising emerges as a key success factor in patient enrollment. Sites that understand their patient population and local area can effectively disseminate information about clinical trials. This strategy helps build a robust patient pool for any given clinical trial.  

Best practices encourage sites to use the provided printed materials like posters and flyers not only in their offices but also in the community, referring doctors’ offices, and other facilities. Utilizing the advertising budget on their own website and local online support groups can further enhance patient recruitment strategies.  

3. Consider Using Imagery in Pre-Screening 

A strategy that may help to improve the quality of patients identified during the pre-screening stage is the use of images. The use of this depends on a couple of factors:  

1. The indication – Can you accurately represent the indication and disease severity you are targeting through images?  
2. How visually appealing are images of the disease indication to look at?  

For some indications, the images may be much more graphic due to the regions of the body they are most prominent and also how severe and unappealing the disease is to look at for the general public.  For example, alopecia areata would be a strong candidate for the use of images, whereas hidradenitis suppurativa may not be a suitable candidate. Any visual cues that you can provide to patients to help them self-identify whether they meet the target population will decrease the number of ineligible patient referrals generated from a campaign and hopefully reduce the burden on sites to identify eligible subjects. 

4. Digital Advertisement Campaigns and Their Impact  

A well-crafted, geo-targeted central advertisement campaign, coupled with an effective pre-screener, can bring in high-quality patients. Depending on the indication and protocol, secondary prescreening can further qualify patients, ensuring not just quantity but quality patients for the sites. This approach ensures faster patient enrollment and maximizes site success while minimizing effort.

Leveraging social media platforms as part of a digital advertisement campaign has proven to help recruit for clinical trials. Understanding online behaviors of patients and utilizing support groups and patient advocacy groups ensures knowledge of clinical trials reaches patients. 

5. Secondary Screening  

Secondary screening may have significant value for a project as well. Secondary screening through either a secondary pre-screening tool or through a call center may have a considerable impact on the quality of referrals and maximize the energy put forth by study sites.   

Recently, we utilized a call center for one of our studies that allowed us to further qualify subjects generated through a central campaign. Ultimately, the secondary screening efforts eliminated 55% of the referrals initially identified via the central campaign. This greatly increased the quality of the referrals sent to sites, increased the likelihood that referrals sent to sites resulted in a screening visit and sites were much happier because it reduced their workload and increased the return on investment. 

The downstream impact of secondary screening and improved referral quality are often intangible but carry high value. It can improve site relations and build confidence and trust with stakeholders (sites and sponsors). Secondary screening requires both financial resources and dedicated work, but it can lead to savings in other areas such as screening visits, lab supplies, and investigator fees. It is important to weigh these considerations and determine if this approach is valuable for a specific project.

6. Recruitment Start Date 

Considerations should always be given to factors influencing a disease indication when trying to maximize recruitment. Seasonality can have a significant impact on recruitment. Consider the importance of identifying conditions influenced by this factor because timing the recruitment period to coincide with the highest prevalence and disease severity can boost recruitment significantly.   

Another important consideration during the study planning phase is the countries to be included and the standard of care for a given indication. This may impact the number of potential patients as well as disease severity, which can heavily influence recruitment timelines. Strategically selecting countries and regions can be used to accelerate recruitment as well. 

In conclusion, the journey to boost patient recruitment is a multifaceted one. It involves a blend of traditional methods, innovative tools, and digital strategies. By understanding the patient population, leveraging available resources, and adopting a patient-centric approach, it is possible to enhance patient recruitment significantly. As the field continues to evolve, so will the strategies to attract and retain patients in clinical trials, ultimately leading to more successful and impactful research.  

About the Author 

John Clarke, MSc  

John Clarke, Associate Director, Patient Recruitment at Innovaderm Research, holds a MSc in Clinical Exercise Physiology.  John has more than 15 years’ experience in clinical research, including 10 years heavily involved in patient recruitment. He also has several years’ experience in website development and social media campaign management. John’s expertise spans problem-solving, data analysis, qualitative research, statistics, critical thinking, and customer relations.  

His leadership style is rooted in hard work, respect for individuals, and commitment to bringing out the best in everyone. John’s approach, combined with his extensive experience and skills, make him an exceptional figure in the field of patient recruitment. 

Let’s shape the future of research and make a difference in the industry, gain Innovaderm’s support in your upcoming rheumatology trial and propel your study to new heights. 

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