In clinical research, data is everything. The quality and accuracy of the data collected during remote patient monitoring (RPM) clinical trials are key to understanding the safety and efficacy of new drugs and medical treatments. However, traditional methods of collecting data from trial participants have been plagued by challenges like recall bias, inconsistent self-reporting, and a lack of real-world context.
Enter connected devices and wearable technology. Remote tools are changing how clinical trials are conducted by enabling researchers to capture richer, more objective data streams in real-time. From smartwatches and activity trackers to continuous glucose monitors and smart inhalers, connected devices offer a window into the daily lived experiences of trial participants.
This article explores how connected devices and wearable technologies used in clinical trials can provide researchers with rich, accurate, real-world data streams.
Remote Patient Monitoring Clinical Trials: Benefits of Connected Devices
How exactly can remote patient monitoring technologies improve clinical trial data and open new medical research frontiers? Clinical trials have shown RPM is effective in enhancing quality of life and managing toxicity for patients undergoing treatment. International guidelines recommend its use in routine clinical practice.
In remote patient monitoring clinical trials, connected devices can track various metrics, such as activity levels, sleep patterns, heart rate, glucose levels, medication usage, and symptoms. This multidimensional data paints a much more comprehensive picture than intermittent reports or infrequent clinic visits.
The following sections outline the benefits of using RPM in clinical trials.
Rich Data Streams
With remote patient monitoring, connected devices enable continuous monitoring and data collection 24/7 in clinical trials, providing insights into how subjects’ conditions fluctuate over time. Connected device data used in remote patient monitoring clinical trials is objective, eliminating the recall bias and inconsistencies that come with self-reported data. Researchers get a clear view of actual behaviors and bodily conditions.
These remote monitoring systems have been well-studied in cancer patients undergoing standard chemotherapy regimens. A recent American Society of Clinical Oncology study found many oncology researchers had limited experience with remote technologies in clinical trials before the COVID-19 pandemic. While 75% of respondents had used telemedicine, RPM, or both for remote care in treatment trials, 62% had never provided remote care to trial patients before the pandemic.
Greater Accuracy
Because participants go about their normal daily routines while using connected devices in remote patient monitoring clinical trials, researchers can study how therapies perform in real-world settings rather than just the artificial clinical environment. A patient’s natural environment removes factors such as white coat syndrome, which may affect blood pressure readings.
Real-World Context & Participant Experience
Understanding Remote Patient Monitoring Clinical Trials
Ultimately, connected devices have the potential to make using remote patient monitoring in clinical trials vastly more informative and efficient. With richer flows of objectively captured data, researchers can make more reliable assessments about the safety and effectiveness of drugs and treatments in development. Remote patient monitoring technologies are connected and enable the future of clinical trials.
