Over the last few weeks, the world has again seen a viral outbreak — the coronavirus (2019-nCoV). The World Health Organization is working closely with global experts, governments, and partners to expand scientific knowledge about this new virus as quickly as possible. These experts are trying to track the spread and virulence of the virus and, more importantly, to advise on measures to protect human health and prevent the spread of this outbreak. One of the actions needed to achieve this has been to restrict travel. Restricting peoples' movement during the initial stages of this outbreak has been necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.
Although these restrictions are understandable, they have placed a strain on both the Chinese people and global business. While trade is based on the free movement of people, so too is scientific research. The exchange of information is a vital ingredient of clinical research where patients, site-staff as well as medical reviewers and monitors often travel to exchange this data.
Monitoring — A cornerstone in clinical research
The CRA's role is to ensure trials are conducted in compliance with international regulations, standards, and guidelines by monitoring sites. This role is also critical for the protection of the rights, safety and well‐being of trial participants and the proper collection and analysis of data. Monitoring study sites is a cornerstone of assuring clinical trials maintain the best possible adherence to protocols and in turn, the highest quality of data.
To maintain this standard, the responsible monitor should regularly review the study data, traditionally by visiting the site itself. However, it is occasionally not possible to conduct on-site monitoring during a study. In the case of the recent coronavirus outbreak, this has become a reality for many sites, preventing CRA's from doing their work.
Remote monitoring in Viedoc
Viedoc has built-in functionality to manage remote monitoring. This not only helps in situations like the one in China now but can make any trial more efficient — saving time and money while increasing safety. CRA's can continue to monitor sites reducing the need for on-site visits. Viedoc has recently published an article reminding users how to optimize their studies through remote monitoring on its eLearning platform.
To find out more about how Viedoc can improve the efficiency of your trial, feel free to contact us with your questions → .
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