A clinical patient registry is an interactive record that procures, systematizes and presents healthcare data. It is often used interchangeably with a patient registry or a disease registry. They all fall under the same umbrella, with the same purpose, which is to improve the treatment relayed to patients suffering from a specific, shared condition or disease. Clinical patient registries are indispensable tools for data collection and evaluation, but there are some criticisms about how long it takes to start a clinical patient registry.
How Long Does it Take to Start a Clinical Patient Registry?
The startup phase is an important part of the clinical registry. But it is often riddled by a series of delays, which end up incurring higher costs, not only for the study, but for the purpose for which the registry was created, for example, the development of a drug.
It takes approximately eight months to get a clinical patient registry up and running, and more often than not, this time is increased further due to delays. The factors affecting the time to start a clinical patient registry include:
- Enrollment of patients and volunteers to participate in the study
- Alterations and changes, if any, to the registry design
- Patient recruitment criteria
- Financial negotiations
- Regulatory compliance concerns
- Measures to ensure data privacy
Ways to Shorten Time to Start Clinical Patient Registry
There are some measures that could reduce the time it takes to get a clinical patient registry up and running. This has an impact on the entire study. When you mitigate delays, you’re able to reduce costs as well. On average, the implementation of a clinical patient registry could cost about $1000, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are necessary.
Therefore, you could take steps to reduce clinical patient registry time any way you can to cut down on costs simultaneously.
Use CROs Instead of Pharmaceutical Companies
A Clinical Research Organization (CRO) is proven to have a shorter startup time as compared to biotech companies. This is primarily because CROs have invested in technology, so they can avoid delays in registry setups and data management systems. Sponsors often prefer CROs, which is an added incentive for them to improve efficiency. CROs often complete site work 6 to 11 weeks faster than others.
Smooth Data Assembly
In an attempt to set up the clinical patient registry quickly, you cannot compromise on the data quality as it would defeat the whole purpose of the registry. A strong data assembly line can ensure speed and mitigation of errors that could cause further delays. Make sure you include specific measures like risk adjustment as this factors in trust in the data. This way, you would avoid high costs and the time it would take to correct data later on.
Flexible Patient Registry Software Solution
The most important consideration for any company or sponsor should be the patient registry software solution you choose. A flexible, HIPAA-compliant software will ensure data privacy and solve compliance issues. It is tailored to your needs, so it will fit your registry’s purpose, whatever it may be. It will also help you collect data more securely and much faster than usual, effectively reducing the time to start a clinical patient registry.
