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Research university removes trial participation barriers with Studypages’ intelligent workflow platform
“Studypages has changed the game. It’s an all-in-one, one-stop shop. When we saw our study coordinators immediately signing up and claiming their collaborative workspace, that’s when we knew we made the right choice. It has been phenomenal.”
UC Davis Health is on the leading edge of a number of medical advancements because of the quality of our research, who we are and how we work together. Clinical research is welcomed with open arms in every corner of our organization. Much of our research is aimed at developing tools, treatments and therapies that will directly help patients.
For UC Davis Health, it’s not only about taking the lead – we also want to do our part to advance research in not just health and medicine, but also in the environment, artificial intelligence and robotics.
Introduction
At UC Davis Health, research is in the university’s DNA. But when too many clinical trials failed to enroll adequate participants, the research university’s medical center found itself at risk of losing sponsors to fund its groundbreaking work. Overwhelmed by the system’s fragmented approach to technology integration, UC Davis began exploring tools that could help streamline and diversify its recruitment referral process, provide seamless workflow management, and boost trial participation and retention rates. At first, the idea that a single platform could address the university’s challenges and meet security and compliance requirements seemed too good to be true. That was until the team discovered Studypages — and launched a branded web portal that not only improved participant rates and public visibility for its ongoing trials, but also freed its study teams from time-consuming outreach tasks so they could focus on putting patient experience at the center of trial design.
Challenge
While UC Davis sought its next medical breakthrough, the research university struggled to actively recruit and retain participants in its ongoing clinical trials. At least 25% of studies were closing without any enrollments whatsoever. This forced the medical center to lose out on sponsor funding, or worse, close studies altogether. According to Fred Stevenson, UC Davis Clinical Trials Recruitment Program Manager, the challenge was largely due to an outdated approach to participant outreach. Study coordinators were often bogged down by long cold call lists or burdened by the task of posting paper flyers with minimal results. The team at the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center knew there had to be a better way.
“We couldn’t continue to make flyers and stick them on telephone poles with a phone number to rip off on the bottom,” he added. “We needed something modern, something public-facing, that could reach potential participants and inspire a call to action. Clearly what we were doing wasn’t working.”
The Solution
The Studypages team introduced UC Davis to the possibilities of a single workflow management platform to manage each step of the clinical trial process. The research university transitioned its clinical trial department to utilize Studypages’ full product range: a community-facing branded microsite to house clinical trial information for the public; collaborative workspaces to enable study teams’ to track and manage trial progress in real-time; and intuitive communication tools to efficiently — and securely — connect with participants.
For example, Stevenson said UC Davis study teams can use QR codes to connect the public to its clinical trial microsite, or use SMS messaging for intake scheduling with a person who expresses interest in participating in a study. Ultimately, Studypages allowed the research university to generate public awareness for its clinical trials, which motivated an influx of people willing to participate in its clinical trials.
“If you are trying to diversify studies, you need to go where the people are, and today that is online,” Stevenson said. “Then your chances go up to allow participants to educate themselves, and empowers people to make a choice.”
The Result
By implementing Studypages, UC Davis was able to generate more attention for its clinical trials, actively recruit and retain participants, and bring more visibility to study teams’ workflow so they could tackle any trial roadblocks early on. During the pandemic, for example, Studypages’ tools — such as its collaborative workspace — offered study teams an opportunity to continue their research, even as they worked from home. This became especially critical when the medical center became a site for researching COVID vaccines. Stevenson said using StudyPages’ tools helped the university sign up more than 3,500 trial participants in a single week. “That’s when we knew StudyPages was worth its weight in gold,” he added. “It was golden; our whole team was glowing.”
Today, UC Davis continues to use the Studypages’ platform for the more than 500 clinical trials the research university has underway at any one time.
“Studypages has changed the game,” said Stevenson. “It’s an all-in-one, one-stop shop. When we saw our study coordinators immediately signing up and claiming their collaborative workspace, that’s when we knew we made the right choice. It has been phenomenal.”
About Studypages
Studypages is a powerful new way to manage the clinical trial lifecycle. The company’s intelligent digital platform elevates the participant experience, improves workflows, and empowers researchers to drive health innovation forward, faster. Studypages was founded in 2014 by Yuzu Labs Public Benefit Corporation, and is dedicated to humanizing the clinical discovery process to achieve health equity and innovation in research. Learn more at https://studypages.com/