I Recommend Changing Vendors if they Aren’t Delivering or Being Transparent

As a sponsor or CRO, you’ll often be involved with bringing in a patient recruitment solutions provider to augment your enrollment activities.

Unfortunately, not all of the vendors you might bring on board are as good as each other. And there is often an issue of lack of transparency and visibility regarding what they are doing.

I’ve worked in an advisory capacity on recruitment projects where it has became obvious the vendor was not doing a good job in terms of results. And also those where vendors were doing an even worse job of keeping the client informed about activity.

A major warning sign is if they suggest scrapping the methods they’ve originally been brought in to use, and proposing a completely different method through a partner organization. Effectively admitting they can’t deliver what they’d originally said they could. In these situations, I recommend moving on and finding a better vendor.

More Learnings from the Writing of Two Books on Patient Recruitment

Continuing with some thoughts on the learnings I’ve taken from writing two books on patient recruitment – fourthly, enlisting the help of others has been very useful for the actual production of the book. For my first book, Patient Recruitment for Clinical Trials Using Facebook Ads, I had someone edit the text, then someone else put the layout together for Kindle and print versions, as well as them creating the cover. For my most recent book, The Patient Recruitment Conundrum, I had an editor, an illustrator, a layout formatter, and a cover designer – all of whom helped make the finished product better.

And fifthly, for the second book, I’ve had assistance from people within the industry who provided feedback and recommendations for making the book more understandable and useful. This has certainly been a benefit and is something I highly recommend for anyone else who wishes to put their thoughts out there in a book.

Some Learnings from Having Written Two Books on Patient Recruitment

Having now written two books on patient recruitment, there’s a few learnings I’ve taken from the process.

Firstly – talking about writing a book is not the same as writing a book. The only way to get the book finished is to do more of the latter and less of the former.

Secondly, persistence is a key factor. I tried multiple approaches to the actual writing process. These included writing a little every day, either at set times or when I had a spare minute, as well as spending whole days at a time getting my thoughts down. And I can say that, for me, it’s not necessarily one method that worked best, it was simply keeping at it and ensuring progress was being made ongoing.

Thirdly, it’s not about waiting for the muse to strike. Thinking through all the angles, then allowing my unconscious to do the rest, has been an effective way to proceed.

Should we Piggyback on Health Awareness Months to Promote Relevant Clinical Trials?

There are lots of patient and condition-based organizations that promote health awareness in particular months or on specific days of the year.

Today, for example, is ‘Wear it Gold’ day for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Last week we had World Alzheimer’s Day, and there are lots of similar awareness-raising themes throughout the year.

Talking with a patient advocate recently, we discussed whether it was ethical to piggyback onto these occasions to promote participation in relevant clinical trials.

For myself, I’d say it’s only unethical if your sole motivation is to make money from the association.

I fundamentally believe that clinical trials are a good thing – or I wouldn’t be working in this industry – and that encouraging people to take part can be beneficial for patients and society as a whole.

So, for me, promoting awareness of a particular condition can sit comfortably alongside promoting clinical trials for that condition at the same time.

Announcing the Release of my new Book – The Patient Recruitment Conundrum

I’m delighted to announce the release of my new book – The Patient Recruitment Conundrum – which is now available on Amazon.

There’s a famous saying – often attributed to Einstein – that if you have an hour to save the world, you should spend the first 55 minutes defining the problem.

This book is my attempt at those first 55 minutes for the problems of recruiting patients for clinical trials.

I’ve written it in the style of a novel – so if you prefer reading informational books in a non-fiction style, the summary notes included as an appendix provide an overview of the issues facing each of the main stakeholders in the patient recruitment process.

Do Facebook Ads Still Work for Patient Recruitment?

I’ve been asked a few times recently whether Facebook Ads still work for recruiting patients. I’ve even had somebody tell me that Facebook Ads specifically don’t work anymore.

Well, my experience tells a different story. I think people have seen reports about Facebook dropping its health-related targeting options, and have conflated that with the complexities of modern trials – many of which have very strict eligibility criteria.

It’s like telling the marketing department of Mercedes-Benz that you can’t sell a Mercedes through TV advertising. My response being nobody is expected to see a TV ad for a Mercedes then simply scan a QR code in order to purchase one. The TV ad raises awareness of the existence of the car, in the same way a Facebook ad raises awareness of the existence of a clinical trial. Given that awareness is one of the biggest issues for patient recruitment, that’s why Facebook Ads can still be very effective.

Treating Trial Volunteers with Respect is Surely the Right Way to Proceed

There are two main definitions of the word ‘volunteer’ in relation to a person, rather than an action. They are someone who freely offers to take part in something or undertake a task, or someone who works for an organization without being paid.

In the world of clinical trials, the majority of trial participants are unpaid volunteers, who freely give of their time and physiology in order to further the cause of clinical research.

Unfortunately, I think at times some patients involved in trials might consider themselves to be more like the volunteers who joined the military in the First World War, with the same kind of recognition and levels of communication afforded to those mired in the trenches.

Volunteering for a trial is a big commitment – and one not to be taken lightly. So treating volunteers with respect just seems as though it should be an essential part of the process.

Moving from Big Pharma to a Smaller Biotech Opens up More Vendor Opportunities

Some people who enter the biotech world have come from big pharma companies, and bring with them the kind of approaches that big pharma takes to clinical operations.

For example, many people who find themselves in charge of setting up trials for a biotech will reach out to the large CRO companies they’ve previously dealt with.

Which is fine as far as it goes, but I think sometimes people who switch from a big pharma to a smaller organization kind of fall into doing things the way they used to, rather than grasping the opportunity to do things differently.

A biotech or newer pharma company that doesn’t yet have a product in the market should really be able to capitalize on its position by throwing off the shackles of the preferred supplier list and identifying solutions that are more in line with the specific requirements they need for their current situation.

3 Months of Daily Videos – Mostly on the Topic of Patient Recruitment

Today marks 3 months of daily videos I’ve been posting online. The majority of the responses have come through LinkedIn or in real life, with people at industry events recognizing me through seeing me pop up in their feed every day. (Always happy to talk, by the way, so if you see me at an event, come and say hi).

As well as LinkedIn, there are 5 other platforms I post them on – TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. None of these yet deliver much in the way of interaction, with one of the only comments I’ve had being ‘Elton John’s wigs are getting worse’.

Which I assume is a reference to my wearing glasses and an earring.

I’ll continue posting them on the other platforms, and will also be putting them all on my website – RossJackson.com – in the near future. Hope to see you around!

Where I Find the Inspiration for these Daily Short Vids on Patient Recruitment

Several people have asked me recently where I come up with the ideas for things to talk about in these daily videos. With this being the 92nd one, I can understand where they’re coming from. And, indeed, I sometimes wonder myself if inspiration will strike on a particular day.

And it always does. I’ve been finalizing the content for a new book over the last few months, and that has provided a good source of potential topics. (More on the book release in the near future).

I also read articles, listen to podcasts, attend webinars and live events, and each of these activities has proven useful for suggesting ideas for short form video content, as well as helping keep me up to speed with what’s happening in the industry.

And for as long as patient recruitment continues to be a major problem, I should think I’ll always be able to find things to talk about.