Patient Recruitment is very critical for the success of proper clinical research. In most cases, the investigator, for their ambitious efforts, recruits patients randomly, which acts as a barrier for effective and satisfying results. In many cases, it has been seen that untimely, inefficient or insufficient recruitment for medical trials has led to increased cost and delay which ultimately leads the research to a complete failure. Let’s have a look at some key factors involved.

Selection of Population

The main factor integral to the success of the research is a prior analysis and calculation of the desired sample size. Selecting a population is a difficult task. It is generally observed that patients drop out of the research or become difficult to follow up on, so these factors need to be taken into consideration when choosing a sample size.

Feasibility Analysis and Patient Retention

Patients are less responsive towards studies which they do not understand or the studies which require them to follow up regularly. The investigator needs to be in line with the expectations of the research itself and the patients who will have to go through the rigors of the experiment. If the research is too complicated and there is a high probability that a patient will drop out, there needs to be a reassessment of the study process. That means that recruiters need to keep in mind the feasibility and plausibility of the research when recruiting patients to participate as the cost of the research may well exceed its benefits.

Strategies for recruitment of patients for clinical research

Recruitment process should be carried only by an efficient person who has full knowledge about the study being carried out and results expected from the study. For this, that individual needs to develop an effective strategy and implement it efficiently. There are various recruitment strategies which are well tested and implemented such as:

1. All patients are recruited at once and then the trial is started simultaneously.
2. Patients enter the trial in groups.
3. Continuous recruitment of patients until the desired sample is achieved.

When selecting a recruitment strategy, the recruiter must consider the population required for the study and cost of recruitment methods before beginning the trial. There are several methods which can be used for effective recruitment like media (television, radio, newspapers, etc), physical referrals, random mailings etc. So a proper method must be chosen according to the need, population, and the desired outreach of the research.

Thus, recruitment of patients is an essential aspect of clinical research and must be conducted with appropriate care and sincerity. Once reliable data is collected, it can be processed to generate results using the variety of solutions offered by Data+. The available solutions range from Data Collection software like Electronic Data Capture to Laboratory Inventory and Management systems and cloud-based sources for storing data.