Planning is at the core of every successful clinical study. It lays the foundation for a streamlined recruitment process and accurate data collection. With a reliable clinical research organization, like Veristat you’re guaranteed that strategic planning guides your trial. That said, randomization and screening take clinical trial planning to the next level. Not only will the two help you provide the most compelling medical evidence, but they also make clinical trials more reliable in testing whether a treatment works. This article reveals the benefits of randomization and screening in clinical trial planning. Let’s jump in.
Randomization prevents biased results in clinical trials
In clinical research, patients in various groups shouldn’t differ in any systematic way. If they are systematically different, your trial’s results will be biased. Suppose patients are assigned to groups in clinical trials examining the efficacy of the surgical intervention. If a greater proportion of older participants are assigned to a particular group in the trial, then the outcome of the surgical intervention can be negatively influenced by this imbalance. This could mean overestimating treatment effects. That’s where randomization comes in.
It ensures that researchers, patients, and other trial stakeholders don’t know which group the subject (patient) will be assigned to. As a result, the groups in your study will be similar such that you can compare different treatment effects more fairly. This is true, especially if your trial has an investigational and control group. Randomization prevents bias resulting from human choices and other factors unrelated to the treatment or drug being examined.
Pre-screening streamlines recruitment
You need a streamlined recruitment process to avoid delays and unnecessary expenses. A pre-screen process helps you identify the right patient so that you only enroll eligible participants. After all, it’s useless to recruit enough patients only to find out later that most of them have pre-existing conditions that hinder trial completion. Effective pre-screening exposes any undesirable condition a person may have before enrollment. It helps you determine someone’s initial eligibility before proceeding to the informed consent phase. As a result, every resource you invest in the recruitment process will count. You can pre-screen patients over the phone, in person, or online. Plus, it may not include any research procedures. Thanks to technology like remote sampling, identified trial candidates can submit samples from the comfort of their homes.
Effective screening speeds up trial implementation
Effective pre-enrollment screening ensures you implement the trial as fast as possible. The reason? Your patient recruitment process will only focus on eligible patients and avoid wasting time and resources on those who don’t qualify. The faster you recruit enough eligible patients, the quicker you can start your clinical trial. Generally, this means avoiding delays, finishing the trial on time, and quickly introducing a trial product to the market.
Clinical trial planning that drives success
Randomization and screening play a critical role in your trial’s success. Without randomization, your research’s outcome may be biased. As a result, you overestimate the treatment’s efficiency, only for the government to deny you permission to introduce your clinical solution to the market.
Without effective screening during recruitment, you are likely to waste time on unqualified potential participants. Ensure your clinical trial planning includes randomization and screening to avoid costly pitfalls in the research.
