2025 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit: How Technology Vendors Can Reduce Site Burden and Improve Trial Execution

In a video interview with Applied Clinical Trials prior to the 2025 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit, Robin Douglas, VP, research site engagement, Medidata, discussed the challenges clinical trial sites face with the increasing use of technology, particularly the lack of interoperability and integration among different systems. She highlighted the complexity of managing multiple trials and systems, leading to issues like double data entry and high costs. Douglas also emphasized the importance of treating site staff as partners, involving them early in the process, and maintaining a consistent feedback loop. Additionally, there is a need for the industry to reduce redundant training and leverage artificial intelligence to automate tasks, freeing up staff for patient care.

ACT: How can technology vendors better support sites in managing system complexity, especially when they’re expected to use multiple tools that don’t always integrate well?

Douglas: First and foremost, I think the industry needs to continue to treat their site staff as true partners and not just end users, so invite them into the conversation early. It helps, I think our sponsors and our CROs understand where there may be friction with their operations and can avoid a lot of rework and challenges if they're able to come into the discussion early. Here at Medidata, we have a site insights board, so we actually sit with our product designers, so we're very much a component of both site and patient product design, so we know that the solutions will work for those critical stakeholders, but it's more than that. It's not just getting them involved early, but it's the consistent feedback loop over the course of the trial.

ACT: What can the industry do to ensure that new technologies improve trial execution at the site level without adding to administrative and training burdens?

Douglas: We didn't really touch on that training burden, that training burden is real. You have all these complicated systems, and sites have to take repetitive training over and over. I think the first call to action, the industry really needs to look at that redundant training and really make sure that what we're putting out there is meeting the sites where they are. If they're new to the industry, then absolutely dig into all the details, but if not, treat them where they are and give them an opportunity to just learn the study specific items. In terms of tools, AI is everywhere, AI is this wonderful blessing if used correctly to automate and to eliminate some of the redundant tasks and really free up the site staff to do what they do best, which is patient care. We're pretty excited about where the industry is headed, but I do think sites need a seat at the table in that conversation, as we're all trying to figure out how to use these new tools. Many sites are already using them in patient recruitment and retention, things like comparing protocol amendments, helping them build their source docs, so they're already actively using it, and they think if we don't, again, have them at the seat at the table, we're doing them a disservice.