Moving Beyond Historical Site Data to Real-Time Patient Insight

In a recent video interview with Applied Clinical Trials, Liz Beatty, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Inato, discussed how sponsors can balance efficiency pressures with patient access as competition for sites and patients intensifies. Beatty explained that while AI-driven tools are accelerating protocol design, feasibility, and trial operations, overreliance on a small pool of familiar sites can create bottlenecks that undermine those gains. She highlighted a shift away from historical site performance data toward real-time patient eligibility insights, enabling more accurate trial planning and inclusive site selection. Beatty also outlined how community research sites can remain competitive by using technology to demonstrate verified patient access and readiness. Looking ahead to 2026, she emphasized that sponsors able to move beyond isolated AI pilots—by redesigning underlying processes and committing to scaled change management—will be best positioned to shorten timelines and expand access to clinical trials.

The interview transcript was lightly edited for clarity.

ACT: In your predictions, you mention the decline of historical site data. How will real-time patient eligibility data change trial planning and site selection in 2026?

Beatty: Historically, sponsors have spent a lot of time on past site performance. They use site lists, their own prior experience, and historical data to design protocols and select sites. This data is directionally helpful, but it never fully hits the need sponsors actually have.

What sponsors really want to know is simple: which sites have eligible patients ready to enroll for an upcoming trial? This sounds simple, but it is very complex in practice. With AI, we can now answer this question. Sites can use AI to securely analyze their electronic medical records, identify eligible patients in real time, and provide sponsors with evidence-based patient access rather than estimates or historical averages.

This is a fundamental shift in trial planning. Sponsors can design more efficient and inclusive trials, reduce protocol amendments, and select sites based on current patient reality, not where patients were two or three years ago. In 2026, I see a clear shift away from relying on historical site data toward a new partnership model, one where sites actively use their own data to demonstrate readiness, differentiate themselves, and participate in trials where they are set up to succeed.