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Document Management Inefficiencies Cost Clinical Study Sites Time, Money

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 June 2009, 09:00 CDT

NEW YORK, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Document sharing inefficiencies in clinical trials cost investigative sites and study sponsors time and money, according to a recent online poll by IntraLinks(R), the leading provider of critical information exchange solutions.

The survey revealed heavy document-related administrative duties and repetitive requests for information as significant contributors to time delays in clinical study communication. Some highlights of the polling results include:

• The majority of investigative sites (67 percent) are asked to resend information to their sponsors once or twice a week when using e-mail, courier or fax.
• One-quarter of investigative sites spend more than three hours per week looking for documents they need and more than half (52 percent) ask sponsors to resend documents when information is delivered by traditional methods.
• Currently, document exchange with investigative sites is still primarily conducted via e-mail (67 percent), via courier (16 percent) and via fax (7 percent).

When asked how online study management tools might help them manage clinical trial document management, survey participants indicated it would be easier to keep track of information (27 percent), paper use would be reduced (19 percent), information sharing would be up-to-date (15 percent) and time spent on study management would be reduced (15 percent).

"While many investigative sites are interested in participating in clinical studies, the associated administrative burden is viewed as a hassle. There is also a heightened sensitivity to the added paperwork, given current focusing on improved operational efficiency in clinical studies," said Alison Shurell, vice president of product marketing for IntraLinks, who manages the company's life sciences initiatives. "This underscores the importance of moving the clinical study management process to a paperless system, which has been proven to reduce both the length of time and the cost associated with clinical trials. Not to mention, nearly 9 out of 10 respondents to our poll said they'd be willing to try an online tool to manage their study. The timing is right to make paperless clinical studies a reality."

About the Poll

Conducted in March 2009, IntraLinks asked 252 clinical trial professionals to respond to 37 questions in an online survey. Of those polled, more than half (58 percent) reported that their primary function was in clinical trial coordination; others were regulatory coordinators (18 percent), contract managers (12 percent), principal investigators (8 percent) and sub-investigators (4 percent). Respondents worked in hospitals (29 percent), solo or group medical practices (27 percent), research centers (20 percent) and public or private hospitals (19 percent).

The therapeutic areas respondents worked in spanned a wide range with heaviest concentrations in cardiology (35.3 percent), internal medicine (26 percent), diabetes (24 percent), pulmonary/respiratory (21 percent) and rheumatology (20 percent).

About IntraLinks

IntraLinks provides on-demand solutions for businesses to securely collaborate, communicate and exchange critical information inside and outside the enterprise. For more than a decade, 750,000 professionals from more than 90,000 organizations have relied on IntraLinks to accelerate workflow, optimize business processes and realize new profit potential. IntraLinks counts 800 of the Fortune 1000 as clients, including AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and the FDIC. For more information, visit www.intralinks.com.

SOURCE IntraLinks

Source: PR Newswire

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