Patient advocacy groups can be a key stakeholder in the clinical trials process. I’ve been involved with many trials that never involve a patient group, and many that do. And the ones that do involve the patient groups are generally more likely to be successful at recruiting and retaining patients – especially if the patient voice is heard at the initial stages of trial and protocol design.

But what about those people who are not in a patient group? Much as I respect and admire the patient advocates who put themselves out there – attending conferences, posting on LinkedIn etc. – there are a lot more people who do not get involved in that kind of activity.

So, while it’s a great idea to involve patient groups in your recruitment and retention process, you should also seek out the voice of those patients who perhaps don’t speak quite so loudly.