Continuing the theme of the best methods of recruiting patients for clinical trials, reaching out to patients ‘where they are’ is another approach that should be able to deliver good results.

Many patients will be involved with a patient group focused on their specific condition, as well as potentially being part of an overall patient database – for example, one that covers multiple diseases in the same therapy area.

And we should always remember that patients are people first, so community outreach based on non-health related factors is another avenue worth exploring.

Unfortunately, many patient groups are naturally wary of organizations that want to tap in to their database of contacts in order to promote the idea of trial participation. And promoting trials in communities is often hit and miss, so – as with the doctor referrals and site databases – these methods generally don’t currently deliver as many patients into trials as they should.