Exco InTouch, the leading provider of patient communication solutions for the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, has carried out a poll demonstrating the effectiveness of cellphone technology in clinical studies, following its recent webinar on “Moving from ePRO to mobile-PRO”. The webinar, in collaboration with Novartis, discussed distinct advantages of ePRO (electronic reported outcomes) using cellphone technology, known in the industry as mobile-PRO (mobile patient reported outcomes), to accurately and reliably capture real-time patient data.
The webinar detailed a case study example of the benefits of mobile-PRO over other traditional methods of reporting. The poll results revealed that 52% of responders indicated that they would consider using mobile-PRO in their next eDiary evaluation. This demonstrated acceptance of mobile solutions in the marketplace and an increased enthusiasm for the use of cellphone technology in patient care management. This was reinforced by the fact that no responders discounted the use of mobile-PRO for their future studies. The poll results also revealed that the frequency of assessment, quality of user interface, feedback and electronic reminder features of mobile-PRO all help influence patient compliance, which is crucial for good data quality.
The webinar highlighted that a staggering 70% of the world’s population own one of the five billion cellphones in the world. Recognising the increased use of cellphones in every day life gives ePRO sponsors a distinct advantage in data collection. Exco InTouch has worked with over 450,000 patients in 60 countries and has only needed to provide cell phones to 646 patients, further validating the benefits of cellphone technology in patient reported outcomes.
The benefits of mobile-PRO were highlighted throughout the webinar, such as cost savings and increased patient safety from eliminating the inaccuracies caused by patients not completing paper diaries as well as helping pharmaceutical companies employ a technology platform that enables patient data capture while complying with FDA guidelines. These advantages in technology demonstrated the increased validity mobile-PRO lends to the collection and evaluation of data for pharmaceutical studies.
Tim Davis, CEO, Exco InTouch, comments: “We received an overwhelming response to our webinar and as the poll demonstrates, respondents are keen to utilise mobile-PRO in their next eDiary evaluation. Exco InTouch is leading the way in patient communication solutions with its three validated ePRO solutions spanning simple diaries to the most complex clinical assessments. Pharmaceutical companies are becoming increasingly interested in the benefits and use of mobile phone technology to manage patient’s illnesses and medication, which also provides a positive user experience for both sponsors and subjects.”
Exco InTouch’s cellphone platform allows for consistent data throughout patient trials providing valid and quick response results in compliance with the recent FDA guidelines. Maintaining the need for privacy, mobile-PRO uses the patient’s own cell phone as an electronic data-collection platform, immediately transmitting all data to a secure central server, a feature not feasible with traditional methods of PROs. Recognising and harnessing these advantages in technology, demonstrates the increased validity mobile-PRO lends to the collection and evaluation of data for pharmaceutical studies.
The collection of real-time, real-world patient experience data that is reliable, valid, and sensitive to drug effects is all a reality with mobile-PRO.
