ClinOne Announces Integration With Lyft and Uber for Free Patient Transportation to Study Sites

ClinOne, a mobile clinical trial management solution, will soon finalize integrations with Lyft and Uber to offer free transportation services for patients enrolled in clinical trials through ClinTrialConnect. ClinTrialConnect is ClinOne’s patient-facing concierge platform that manages a patient’s clinical trial experience.

The integration completion, planned for June 2018, will allow auto-invoicing for Lyft and Uber trips to and from the study site, so the patient is not charged and doesn’t have to submit an expense report to the site and await reimbursement. For the site, it’s one less piece of paperwork to process for each patient visit.

Patient compliance for a timely visit is important for the clinical trial, clinical data and safety of patients and transportation to visits can be challenging to patients and families. The logistics involved in securing transportation to clinical trial appointments has long been cited as a barrier to clinical trial participation, and missed appointments are detrimental to the patient and to the study site.

In particular, the elderly face additional challenges related to transportation. Many elderly patients rely on family for getting to and from their research visit, which complicates the process for patients arriving at their appointments on a consistent schedule.

“It’s easy to lose track of how complex this process may be for a single study. For example, a phase III study could have 2,000 patients enrolled for 36 months and each patient needs to come in for a monthly visit. That’s 72,000 patient visits and 144,000 trips – a staggering number,” says Rob Bohacs, CEO of ClinOne.

He adds, “We simplify the process for patients, families, and provide a true concierge service to patients, which is crucial to our mission. The cost of these services is not prohibitive compared to standard reimbursements for travel and parking time. This can  average $35 per visit per patient, while Lyft and Uber costs would range from $22 round trip to $45 for most patients.”

The cost of patients missing treatment windows and triggering protocol deviations is a 50-fold increase versus the cost of a ride-sharing service. Satisfied and well cared for patients have been found to stay in studies for longer durations for increased patient retention.

How it works

The study sponsor enables the technology, the system generates the option for patients to select ride to pick up in 50 countries, research sites are automatically notified when their patients are picked up and provides an expected time arrival for their patients. Families can log in to the patient's shared digital concierge account and visually track the family members journey to their clinical trial provider, as well as to provide an auto-notification when the patient arrives safely. 

About ClinOne

The ClinOne solution and its suite of products were created to improve access to mission-critical clinical trial details through the web and mobile devices. The company's sole mission is to allow important trial details to be at the fingertips of participating researchers. Currently, more than 2,600 active clinical trials in 50 countries rely on ClinOne’s technology. Visit www.clinone.com for more information.

Source: ClinOne, Inc.