Virtual Clinical Trials...good idea or bad idea?
 

Virtual clinical trials...from a patients point of view is this a good idea or a bad idea?

Pfizer REMOTE

Clinical trials: at home, and on the phone

Pfizer Starts First US "Virtual" Clinical Study

i love the idea. jean :p

does this mean?
 

we could cross continents and be in trials on other countries?

Paula, regardless of where the REMOTE study took place it is something to chat about, or at least I think so. I see Jean commented that it would be a good idea.

If you participated in a trail, and I hope you do someday, maybe GDNF, would you do so via your computer...having no clinical office visit for a physical assessment.

Not only was it a topic at the DIA 2011 (Drug Information Association) conference, but it is also a topic, two actually, at the conference that I am attending in January.

• Direct-to-Patient Studies — Move from Site-Centric to Patient-Centric with Virtual Clinical Trials
• Bolster Patient Recruitment and Retention with a Direct-to-Patient In-Home Clinical Service Offering

Besides, you and I have been advocating for clinical trials for at least 12 years now through the PPP, so it should be something that catches the eye for us.

Carolyn

I'm doing it now
 

I do the FOUND trial at home. And parts of the Kinetics trial are done at home.:p

Jean

I think it is potentially a good development . it could open up clinical trial participation to many who couldn’t do so before --- due to difficulty traveling, cost, those who live in rural areas or small cities where few trial centers are easily accessible. Of course, you still need to have access to a computer, which still might prevent a sizable number from participating.

It does seem like in the last few years the pharma companies and academic sites have come to better understand the need to provide full travel expenses for both PWP and their caregivers, so that they can participate in clinical trials. And this happened only because patients spoke up about it. Virtual trials would be a lot less expensive for the trial sponsors.

There are lots of questions, and hopefully the companies planning virtual clinical trials will be working together with all stakeholders , so that there is uniformity and data can be compared from one trial to another. What outcome measures would be used? cchanges wll be needed in the traditional outcome measures, such as the UPDRS . Hopefully each company is NOT going to be doing its own thing

I also participated in the Kinetics at home trial. One of the tasks was simple finger tapping on their device and moving pegs, while both off and on meds. I asked the trial staff, if this really can provide much information beyond just measuring hand dexterity, and they said that it actually can.

Some may not be ready for the future, but the future is already here

Linda H said:
Some may not be ready for the future, but the future is already here

So true, Linda!

We have to move faster if I and several others on this forum can outrun this disease!

I can see some benefit for virtual trials, but not everry trial can fit into such protocol, I still say that a warm body makng acommitment to a sponsor or a research facilikty will solve much more "useable" data than a computer-based trial..

And digger, I believe paula HAS already been in a trial (maybe even more than one). She did one with NIH just recently.
Peggy