The Critical Issues You Need to Track During a Clinical Trial
Congratulations! You have gone through all the necessary steps to launch a clinical trial. Now it’s time to move on to the next one, right? Wrong! A successfully managed clinical trial requires ongoing tracking throughout its duration. Careful monitoring ensures your research institution remains compliant and that your site is compensated properly for the study.
Follow our series on the key critical issues you need to track throughout a clinical trial.
Part Two — Budgeting and Maximizing Revenue
Research sites that have a clear process for clinical trial budgeting as well as billing and collections can ensure their research efforts are feasible and sustainable.
An initial process that thoroughly accounts for every expense related to the clinical trial will result in a thoughtful budget that supports site resources. In addition to completing a Coverage Analysis to determine research procedures from standard of care procedures, research coordinators should consider costs that may be “hidden” or less obvious such as protocol specific training, or time needed for site initiation and monitoring visits. A detailed budgeting process up front will make tracking study activity and expenses much easier. Besides the expenses related to patient visits, budgets should include line items that cover time and effort of the investigator, the coordinator, and other research personnel for the various administrative tasks necessary to effectively carryout the requirements of the study. These administrative tasks can include:
- Screening for eligible participants
- Responding to sponsor queries
- Reviewing safety reports
- Preparation of regulatory documents or maintaining the regulatory binder
Throughout the study, it is important to track not only visits and procedures, but also items for which you need to invoice the study sponsor or CRO. Invoiceable fees can include procedures done outside the study visits, such additional scans, lab tests, or unscheduled visits. If patients are reimbursed for travel or other expenses, these should also be tracked.
To ensure research billing and collections are maximized it is essential to have strong systems in place to track all study visits and procedures completed throughout the study and record all the activity in comprehensive invoices. It is also important to track study payments and accounts receivables. Reconciling payments received from the sponsor/CRO to the study budget and to the actual study activities completed is critical. If you do not receive payment for all study activity your cash flow and profitability are impacted.
Careful tracking of all study activity, billable expenses, and sponsor/CRO payments help ensure that your site will have positive cash flow and cover its costs related to operating clinical trials.
