CLINICAL OPERATIONS & OUTSOURCING


Campbell’s qualitative analysis showed that pharmacists were keen to help recruit a clinical trial becase it had a clear benefit to their patients by providing free medication or eliminating co-payment. Also, the same study showed that recruiting via pharmacists is one of the most cost-effective methods, compared with other methods, such as social media. Participation in clinical trials might be an additional revenue stream, especially for independent pharmacies, Finken says. “Pharmacies will adapt to whatever they


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“They might have a bigger footprint or have a shinier spreadsheet, but when it comes to delivering, they will not deliver it,” Picard notes. Logistical challenges and applicability


Even though pharmacies hold a lot of promise, there are several potential challenges or pitfalls that might hinder the execution of a clinical trial. First, a pharmacy might lack some elements of privacy and certain patients might not be comfortable waiting in an open area, says Getz. Picard explains that there needs to be a


separate area within the pharmacy that could be dedicated to assessments for a clinical trial. Another challenge for pharmacy clinical trials is applicability. Certain disease areas, such as oncology, will not be good for the pharmacy model, especially if invasive interventions are part of the protocol, Rose notes. However, disease areas such as dermatology, respiratory, cardiovascular, neurology, pain or infectious diseases can lend themselves better to this model, he adds. Pharmacists might also need additional


training. Finken says they already perform the majority of tasks that they might be asked to do for pharmacy clinical trials. “Recruiting patients into a clinical trial is no different than recruiting them to a new diabetes education,” he adds. onetheless, more clinical trialspecific


training arond specific protocols wold still be needed.


What do pharmacists say? While it is important to talk about pharmacies from the business perspective, it is also crucial to understand what pharmacists themselves have to say about being part of a clinical trial.


need to do in order to remain in business, so they can continue serving the population that they serve,” Picard says. However, it is crucial to embed clinical trial


processes into the workflow of pharmacists, says Abdel Shaheed. “Although they very much would love to be involved in research and pharmacists have a significant role to play in this area, there are practical and pragmatic considerations that must be considered,” she explains. For example, if it is a busy pharmacy and there is only one person on duty that day, a clinical trial will become a lesser priority, she adds.


While the potential is there, pharmacies have


only just started to play a modest role in the clinical trial industry and there is still a long way to go to see what impact they will have, Getz says. While it might be a modest role, it will still have an impact on reaching underrepresented communities and improving diversity in clinical trials.


Key takeaways: • Retail pharmacy giants, such as Walgreens, CVS and others, are entering the clinical trial space one after another. Sponsors in other countries have yet to fully explore pharmacy-based recruitment.


• Chain retail pharmacies can offer large footprints and datasets, whereas independent pharmacies tend to offer trusting relationships within the community.


• Even though pharmacists are willing to participate, the trial processes need to be embedded seamlessly into their workflows without causing additional burdens.


Outsourcing In Clinical Trials | 19


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