In a recent discussion with Jena Daniels, VP of Patient Success at Medable, we explored the company’s recognition as a leader in patient engagement by Everest Group. Jena shared insights into Medable’s Patient Caregiver Network (PCN), strategic partnerships, and site feedback mechanisms. This Q&A highlights Medable’s innovative approaches to improving patient engagement in clinical trials, emphasizing the integration of patient and site feedback into their product development and strategy.
Moe Alsumidaie: How did Medable’s Patient Caregiver Network (PCN) evolve, and what role does it play in patient engagement?
Jena Daniels: When I joined Medable nearly seven years ago, I was tasked with developing a strategy for patient engagement, which led to the creation of our PCN. This global and diverse network of over 100 patient and caregiver advocates spans 12 countries and includes individuals with clinical trial experience. Our primary goal was to engage directly with these individuals to ensure our technology was developed with their needs in mind. This approach ensures that our products are engaging, easy to use, and truly impactful. From the outset, patient engagement has been a priority for Medable, both from a product and cultural standpoint. Our mission is to
deliver therapies to people faster, and involving patients from the beginning is crucial. The PCN has been instrumental in aligning our technology with patient needs, making it a cornerstone of our strategy. By embedding patient and site experiences into our products and workflows, we aim to increase study adherence and retention.
Moe Alsumidaie: How does the PCN inform your platform and improve patient engagement? Can you provide examples?
Jena Daniels: Our patient engagement and retention strategy is built on three key pillars: the Patient Caregiver Network, product feature functionality, and adoption and onboarding. The insights and expertise we gather from our network are invaluable. For instance, we learn about patients’ preferences for wearable devices, how they prefer to answer questions, and the language that resonates with them. We also gather feedback on study notifications and non-validated instruments like e-diaries. This continuous feedback loop allows us to refine our technology to address the challenges patients face during trials. For example, understanding patient preferences for wearable devices helps us tailor our technology to be more user-friendly and effective. Our platform includes features like Total Consent, Televisit, and eCOA/ePRO, which improve patient access, enrollment, retention, and the overall patient and site experience. By leveraging data from patient groups and site staff, we prioritize our product roadmap to enhance access, diversity, engagement, and retention.
Moe Alsumidaie: How has your partnership with Rare Patient Voice impacted the PCN?
Jena Daniels: Rare Patient Voice has been an incredible partner. While we’ve built a robust site network, there are always more areas to explore, and through Rare Patient Voice, we can access a broader range of experiences and demographics. This partnership allows us to find advocates with specific experiences, especially in rare disease conditions, to enhance our learning and diversify our network. For example, if we’re working on a study in a rare disease area and need insights from someone with that specific experience, Rare Patient Voice can help us find the right advocate. This collaboration expands our reach and ensures we continuously have fresh perspectives and insights, which is crucial for maintaining the relevance and effectiveness of our network. We align engagement efforts with enterprise goals to support retention and compliance by connecting patients, sites, and site monitoring teams.
Moe Alsumidaie: How do you solicit site feedback, and how has Medable addressed site challenges over the years?
Jena Daniels: Supported sites are essential for successful trials and engaged patients. Our approach is to ensure that sites are well-supported so they can, in turn, engage patients effectively. We involve site team members from global networks to influence our product development. This includes understanding their needs, gaps, and challenges and working together to create solutions within our technology. We also provide comprehensive training to ensure sites are comfortable with our technology, allowing them to focus on patient relationships. This includes study-specific training, live demos, and step-by-step guides. My experiences as a CRA and CRC inform our approach to site engagement and training. I understand the importance of being well-prepared when interacting with patients, and we strive to ensure our sites have the tools and knowledge they need to succeed. Our training materials, virtual meetings, and 24/7 helpdesk support ensure seamless technology adoption and site success.
Moe Alsumidaie: What’s next for the PCN and your site network?
Jena Daniels: We plan to expand our internal patient speaker series to external audiences, allowing more people to engage with patient and site advocates. This series has been an internal initiative for nearly five years, providing our team with direct insights from patient and site advocates. By offering this externally, we aim to share these valuable insights broadly. Additionally, we’re exploring study simulations to identify gaps before trials go live, potentially reducing amendments and missing data. This proactive approach could save time and resources in clinical trials. By simulating studies, we can identify what’s working well and what needs improvement before the trial begins, ultimately enhancing the trial’s efficiency and effectiveness. These initiatives are part of our ongoing commitment to improving patient engagement and trial outcomes. Our collaboration with Tufts CSDD to study decentralized methods further supports our mission to accelerate digital transformation in clinical trials.
Moe Alsumidaie is Chief Editor of The Clinical Trial Vanguard. Moe holds decades of experience in the clinical trials industry. Moe also serves as Head of Research at CliniBiz and Chief Data Scientist at Annex Clinical Corporation.
