Integration with ClinTrialConnect, ClinOne’s patient-facing platform, is expected to be completed in June of this year. According to the company, the integration will enable auto-invoicing for transportation to and from study sites.
"Transportation and logistics for clinical trial participation can be very challenging for patients and families. A patient enrolled in an oncology clinical trial could have up to four visits each month spanning one to three years," said Rob Bohacs, CEO of ClinOne.
"Our integration with Lyft and Uber greatly reduces this burden on patients and families," Bohacs told Outsourcing-Pharma.com.
"It also removes the up-front cost for transportation, since patients could otherwise wait months for expense reimbursement from research sites," he added.
According to the company, study sponsors enable the technology and the system generates the option for the patient to select a ride – in up to 50 countries.
When a patient is picked up, research sites are automatically notified and provided an expected arrival time. Additionally, families can log in to the patient's shared digital account to view trip status.
"For research sites, the logistical challenges hurts clinical trial participation rates," explained Bohacs. "Missing appointments, or even being late, can trigger a protocol deviation against the research site."
The integration also reduces the amount of paperwork for the research sites as it will reduce individual expense reports, he said.
"From a trial sponsor perspective, it's very important that patients attend their intended visits within the treatment window for the safety and clinical data consistency. Also, sponsors are always concerned over patients withdrawing from a study over something that can be resolved, primarily something simple as transportation/logistics," Bohacs added.
"The sponsors are already reimbursing patients for travel and parking, this just simplifies the process."