Lessons Learned (so far) in COVID-19
Even as communities start the process of evaluating re-opening, many experts believe that a new normal will be with us for a long time. Physical distancing, face masks and ubiquitous alcohol gel will be part of daily life. The risk of recurrence spikes also looms ahead and threatens a return to stricter “stay at home” orders. Health care and higher education institutions continue to evaluate risks and will likely continue to encourage employees, including IRB and research administration staff, to work from home in order to maintain physical distancing. Research office staff have made incredibly quick adjustments in real time as the pandemic made its way through the United States.
In assisting our partners and clients make rapid changes, we learned some lessons we believe will help research institutions be more resilient in the months and even years to come.
Prepare for the unexpected
Disaster planning and business continuity are required for organizations receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. But even non-NIH funded research institutions should have robust business continuity plans in place. The elements of a disaster plan include issues such as data security and protecting human subjects.
Leverage technology
Many organizations scrambled to get their staff up and running from impromptu home offices. From installing and learning video conference platforms to having documentation securely available online, many research professionals quickly adapted to new ways of working and collaborating despite the learning curve.
Research institutions and investigators should consider building in these technologies as a part of their daily operations:
- Web-based collaborative protocol-writing tools
- Electronic Research Protocol Management Systems and Clinical Trial Management Systems
- Online training for research staff, particularly for operations and regulatory compliance
- Secure online meeting/video conferencing applications
- Secure cloud-based document storage for regulatory materials and other essential documents
Build in flexibility
Many research institutions pivoted their resources toward COVID-19 research efforts. This means that internal resources are unavailable for ongoing work or pending projects. Being able to shift that work to external resources, including IRBs, allows for flexibility to respond quickly as situations evolve.
External IRB partners should offer processes and procedures for running IRB meetings virtually in compliance with regulatory requirements. They should also hold frequent meetings, with the ability to hold ad-hoc meetings as needed.
Other functions can be outsourced to strategic partners, particularly when rapid turnarounds are required. These include the development and management of study budgets, coverage analysis, and clinical trial agreement support.
Select the right partners
The historic scope of impact on the research community at every level demonstrates weaknesses in every system, including partnerships. As with any disaster, communication is often the first thing to fail. Tightly synchronized communication with responsive partners who act as an extension of the research team can be the difference between an inconvenience and a very costly mistake.
Research institutions have demonstrated great resilience in their response to COVID-19, and have continued to focus on human subject protection throughout their efforts. There is talk of a “new normal” in the aftermath of the pandemic. These lessons learned can help institutions retain the integrity of their research while remaining responsive to what may be a long-standing landscape in the months or years to come.
