Can Patient Liaison Services Transform Clinical Research Access?

Patient liaison services are becoming increasingly vital to positive trial experiences.

In 2024, patient satisfaction scores rose to their highest levels in five years, based on feedback from over 6.5 million healthcare visits. Another large-scale global survey found that over 85% of patients ranked clear communication and being treated with respect as top factors in their care experience.

What this means is that patient experience is top priority, especially in clinical trials, where many patients still face steep logistical and financial hurdles just to participate.

In this Xtalks Spotlight, Amy Franco, Senior Director of Patient Liaisons at Scout, discussed how patient liaison services can be monumental in making trials truly accessible.

Amy brought a wealth of insights on empowering patients and lightening the load on clinical sites.

Putting People First

According to Amy, one of Scout’s core goals is helping patients stay enrolled in studies — a principle that shapes its operational model.

From arranging advisory boards to delivering compliance training via the Scout Academy, the company’s Clinical arm handles all travel and payment logistics for patients and sites, aiming to reduce participation-related burdens.

The Personal Touch of Patient Liaisons

At the heart of the Scout Clinical service line is the Patient Liaison team — a fully in‑house, multidisciplinary team available “24/7, 365.”

“They are there on the other end of the phone. In a world where it seems like we are losing that personal touch, Scout and our Patient Liaison team are there ensuring that this is provided,” said Amy, emphasizing that every patient concern is addressed promptly.

Amy also highlighted their diversity: “We’ve got members from life sciences backgrounds, from medical backgrounds, we’ve got EMTs [emergency medical technicians], travel service, social work background, bringing together all those skills.”

Comprehensive, Cost‑Free Support

Financial burdens often derail trial participation. Amy noted, “When patients do have out‑of‑pocket expenses, we can quickly ensure that they’re reimbursed. So that burden of being out of pocket is absolutely minimized.”

Scout’s reimbursement aims to cover everything from mileage and meals to childcare and long-term lodging. Payments flow via bank transfer, ScoutPass® debit cards, checks in the US or PayPal globally — whatever suits each patient best.

Going Beyond Accessibility

As Amy puts it, Scout is “here to make travel stress-free and smooth for our patients.”

Every patient’s circumstances are unique. Amy drew our attention to some of the challenges Scout faces to ensure patient comfort and accessibility.

For instance, when patients need to travel with additional medical equipment like oxygen, Scout coordinates with travel partners to meet all Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requirements, ensuring the equipment complies with safety standards and the journey proceeds without delay.

In other instances, patients requiring specialized vehicles or accessible hotel accommodations were provided with tailored arrangements. These included adaptive transportation that combined local ground transport with scheduled flights, as well as hotel bookings with necessary accessibility features.

Amy pointed out, “In many of the countries we work, they’re very expansive. Patients don’t necessarily live close to an airport or a train station, and they can live quite remotely.”

Navigating Global Nuances

Participating in a clinical trial can feel vastly different depending on where a patient lives. Regulatory expectations, preferred reimbursement processes and even cultural norms vary across regions — and patients benefit most when these details are respected.

Amy described how they handle regional quirks: “Whether it’s our strict adherence to MR‑001 in France, or the preference of the manual reimbursement process that we know French sites and patients prefer to the Hungarian CEC [Convention on Energy Charter] restrictions and collecting the study assigned to patient IDs. We know the country nuances, and we’re equipped to provide our services within these.”

In these cases, multilingual liaison teams and adaptable coordination platforms — like the Scout Portal, available in over 200 languages — help ensure that trial participation remains attractive.

Wholesome Real‑World Stories

Many patients face barriers to trial participation that go beyond distance.

Amy Franco shared the example of a patient in the Middle East who had no internet access, phone or passport, factors that might typically exclude someone from enrolling.

“We were able to work with the site and support this patient to make sure they could be part of the trial… We provided an advance payment for passport and visa costs, arranged flights and hotels and sourced a driver in Dubai who spoke the patient’s local language.”

Another trial required weekly travel from Croatia to Italy for a non‑Italian speaker, so Scout coordinated an in‑person interpreter for each visit. And when a Swedish family needed to relocate for the study, Scout even arranged pet‑friendly accommodations so they could bring their cat, ensuring the whole family felt supported.

Scout’s Patient-Focused Vision for 2025

In 2024, Scout piloted a new “Scout Coordinator” service to shift administrative burdens from site staff to Scout’s team. Amy shared, “Scout Coordinator shifts those logistical burdens from the site staff over to our team. We simplify the workflow for sites, which is obviously particularly attractive at high‑volume trial sites.”

Early on, Amy had remarked, “We never want the financial burden to limit trial participation.”

With exponential growth already, Scout plans to expand this model globally in 2025, so site teams can focus on patient care rather than paperwork. Behind the scenes, Scout’s development team is also crafting technology enhancements designed to make trial logistics even smoother for sites and patients alike.

This article was created in collaboration with the sponsoring company and the Xtalks editorial team.