In 2025, sponsors and CROs are under mounting pressure to maximize return on investment (ROI), streamline processes, and deliver results without delays. While advancements in artificial intelligence dominate industry conversations, innovative point-of-need care models are proving indispensable in tackling a range of challenges that hinder clinical trial progress.
Point-of-need care streamlines operations by meeting patients where they are, reducing participant burden, and supporting diverse recruitment. Analysis in Clinical Research News highlights that decentralization, paired with patient-centric solutions, has begun reshaping clinical trials, yielding both financial and operational benefits.
Here, we explore how point-of-need delivery models address inefficiencies, helping trials stay on time and budget for success.
Why Clinical Trials Need an Efficiency Upgrade
Clinical trials operate in a high-stakes environment where success hinges on time, cost, and outcomes. Yet, traditional site-based models often create roadblocks that compromise these priorities:
- Recruitment Bottlenecks: Nearly 80% of trials fail to meet recruitment goals on time, delaying study milestones and regulatory submissions.
- Retention Challenges: Almost 30% of participants drop out before completing a trial, compromising data integrity and requiring additional recruitment efforts.
- Escalating Costs: Trial delays can cost sponsors anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million per day in lost future sales, significantly inflating budgets and reducing ROI.
How Point-of-Need Delivery Models Address Clinical Trial Challenges
Traditional clinical trial models often burden participants with travel, scheduling complications, and limited access, leading to delays and inefficiencies. Point-of-need care models alleviate these issues by delivering patient-centric, adaptable solutions.
Here are three ways these models improve trial outcomes.
1. Enhanced Convenience: Reducing Participant Burden to Boost Retention
Challenge: Participants often cite travel and scheduling issues as primary reasons for dropping out of trials. In one Phase 1 study, patients traveled 45 minutes each way for eye assessments. When an equipment failure halted the study, the sponsor risked significant delays and participant dissatisfaction.
Solution and Results: By positioning a 20/20 Onsite Mobile Vision Clinic directly onsite, the trial eliminated over 85 hours of participant travel time, reduced scheduling frustration, and increased satisfaction rates. This success demonstrates the importance of integrating assessments into trial locations.
Takeaway for 2025: Relocating assessments to patient-centric settings minimizes friction and enhances retention. Consider mobile solutions to expand accessibility and mitigate delays, particularly for studies with geographically dispersed or time-constrained participants.
Read more: Streamlining a Clinical Study for Syneos Health
2. Reliable Compliance: Addressing Gaps in Site Resources
Challenge: During a chronic cough study, Company W faced resistance from respiratory-focused sites lacking resources to perform ocular assessments. Relying on external ophthalmology providers introduced coordination difficulties and jeopardized compliance with FDA-mandated monitoring.
Solution and Results: Deploying a point-of-need delivery model streamlined the integration of ocular assessments into the study, maintaining 100% adherence to screening timelines. Additionally, participants consistently praised the convenience of on-site care, with 97% recommending the approach.
Takeaway for 2025: To maintain compliance and safeguard data quality, sponsors should consider integrating flexible, mobile solutions that adapt to the unique needs of their study sites. This approach minimizes disruptions and ensures timelines remain intact.
Read more: Optimizing Non-Ophthalmic Phase 3 Trials with Point-of-Need Eye Assessments
3. Seamless Integration: Improving Access and Experience for Vulnerable Populations
-1.jpg?width=440&height=293&name=2020-onsite.0096%20(1)-1.jpg)
20/20 Onsite's Mobile Vision Clinic provides essential eye exams to pediatric cystic fibrosis patients in rural and underserved areas.
Challenge: Pediatric patients in a cystic fibrosis trial faced significant barriers to accessing required eye exams. Issues such as long wait times, limited Medicaid acceptance, and the vulnerability of immunocompromised patients risked delaying medication initiation and affecting study enrollment.
Solutions and Results: Mobile clinics can deliver care directly to underserved populations, increasing accessibility and satisfaction. In this case, over 415 patients, including more than 50% from rural areas and Medicaid recipients, received timely eye exams, with wait times reduced to under 30 days. Families expressed overwhelmingly positive feedback, reflected in a 98 Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Takeaway for 2025: Sponsors and CROs managing trials with vulnerable populations should prioritize adaptable, patient-centric models that reduce access barriers. Proactive planning can ensure that logistical challenges do not compromise study timelines or patient care.
Read more: Expanding Access to Post-Market Safety Exams with Point-of-Need Care
Delivering Efficiency and Results in 2025
As the clinical trial landscape evolves, sponsors and CROs face increasing pressure to deliver results efficiently and cost-effectively. Point-of-need care models offer a scalable, proven solution to longstanding challenges, enhancing retention, compliance, and patient satisfaction, while accelerating timelines.
Explore the Savings for Your Trial
Try our Savings Calculator to estimate the financial and operational impact of 20/20 Onsite’s solutions on your trial. Or contact us today to customize services for your unique needs.