The Rose Research Center (RRC), a leading research partner specializing in solving issues around tobacco and nicotine dependence, reached out to Medrio to help them transition their data collection processes from paper to digital, using Medrio’s Electronic Data Capture (EDC) and Electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) solutions. According to Associate Director of Data Management LaKeshia Scott, the paper processes were not working the way her team needed them to, leading to slowdowns and, in the worst cases, data entry or transcription errors.
“Transcribing and verifying handwritten notes was extremely time-consuming. Just being able to read some of these manual entries can be very difficult, which makes everything take longer than it should,” Scott said. “So, enabling direct digital entry of data, including patient-reported outcomes, was key to making our lives easier while ensuring data accuracy. Medrio helped make the transition simple, converting existing paper records to digital ones while maintaining very similar processes. This made the switch to electronic data collection smooth for everyone involved.”
Flexibility to Reach More Patients
Patients taking part in tobacco cessation therapy or similar studies can range widely in age and severity (or presence) of smoking-related health conditions. Additionally, the problem of tobacco and/or nicotine dependence is global, and potential clinical research participants are widely dispersed geographically. For all these reasons, RRC wanted the flexibility to collect data both in-clinic and remotely via ePRO.
“To reach all of our patients, we really needed a way to collect data in the same format no matter if a study team member is entering it during a site visit or if a patient or caregiver is entering the data from their home. Medrio made it very easy for us to build and implement these kinds of flexible study designs and expand access to more patients than ever, regardless of where they live.”
Faster Study-Builds Made Simple
What was, perhaps, most surprising for RRC was how easy it was to begin using the new electronic data collection approaches. In particular, Scott is thrilled with how Medrio’s library feature has helped to reduce redundant work and save time.
“Most of our study builds are relatively simple, using some of the same forms and documents. In the past, we had to manually pull things from previous studies or even recreate them from scratch, but Medrio’s library feature allows us to quickly pull resources from existing studies and easily make study-specific modifications as needed,” Scott said. “This has greatly reduced our study build times and is probably my favorite feature of the technology.”
Ensuring Data Quality and Accuracy
In addition to faster study builds and expanded patient populations, RRC is also excited about the improved data quality and the resulting peace of mind that their Medrio data collection solutions provide. For example, the Medrio platform prompts users to enter precisely the data needed at the precise time. This has helped reduce both missing data and errors in entry or transcription.
“Medrio has given us confidence that the data coming in is accurate, confidence we didn’t always have with paper. We can now easily update all study stakeholders with the data they need from within the Medrio platform, and, because all data is updated in near real-time, we know the information is correct and current. All of this just helps us do our jobs better.”
Unlocking New Efficiencies
In all, the flexibility and ease of use of the Medrio EDC and ePRO solutions have been transformative, according to Scott. She credits the system with their ability to more easily make changes to study designs mid-trial and, ultimately, close studies out more smoothly and quickly.
“I would be devastated to go back to paper,” Scott said. “With Medrio, we’ve got a much more effective workflow, allowing us to produce high-quality data without added headcount and focus on the research we are passionate about.” Learn more about Medrio’s EDC and ePRO capabilities.
