One of the key things we can do to retain patients on clinical trials – and also because it just seems to be the right thing to do – is reduce the burden of participation. People taking part in trials are volunteers in the process, so making it as easy as possible for them would certainly appear to be a good idea.

Sadly, this is not always the case when you look at what’s involved – the multiple site visits, the recording of Patient Reported Outcomes, the sometimes debilitating procedures that have to be undertaken, the general disruption to a person’s daily routine etc.

Which is why I always recommend having patient involvement from the outset when designing a trial – so you can incorporate their feedback into the protocol, and help to reduce the number of people who drop out of trials due to the burden of participation.