How Principal Investigators Can Proactively Improve Patient Enrollment

Insufficient patient enrollment is one of the primary reasons clinical trials fail. Direct mail, advertising and social media help raise awareness, but do they enroll enough qualified patients for every trial?

Principal investigators play a critical role in converting interested patients to enrolled, consented participants. Those who have established relationships with patients or who take the time to build those relationships have better odds of success.

For example, an infectious disease specialist at St. Vincent’s Ascension in Birmingham, Alabama, recruited a diverse group of 200 participants for a COVID-19 study at the height of the pandemic. He succeeded because he had built trust with his patients over many years, and because he worked for an organization with deep roots in the city.

Trust is only one part of a multifactored equation investigators can use to meet patient enrollment goals more consistently. Other elements involve a proactive approach to patient outreach, communication and engagement.

Register for this webinar to learn the following:

• The benefits of a proactive approach and the pitfalls of a reactive approach
• How trust between patient and physician improves enrollment and retention
• How investigator engagement influences recruitment and retention
• Tips for setting up investigators for success

Speaker

Arnold Silva, MD, PhD, Founding Physician Partner and Director of Clinical Research, Boise Kidney & Hypertension Institute, in partnership with Frenova

Dr. Arnold Silva is founding physician partner and director of clinical research at Boise Kidney & Hypertension Institute, in partnership with Frenova. Twice awarded for excellence in teaching at the University of Arizona, Dr. Silva served as a clinical assistant professor of medicine and taught in the areas of biology, biochemistry and physiology for California State University and the University of California. With over 30 years of experience in both basic science and clinical research, Dr. Silva has spent the past decade focused on bringing nephrology clinical trials to southern Idaho to benefit patients with kidney disease. He has helped facilitate studies involving anemia in chronic kidney disease and end stage renal disease, secondary hyperparathyroidism and hyperphosphatemia, diabetic nephropathy and adult polycystic kidney disease.

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