Posted by Michael Jay on Wed, Aug 25, 2010
RxTrials welcomes Michael Bonavilla & Tara Kerpelman with Bio-Optronics, as guest bloggers who wrote the below post.
One of the biggest challenges that arise for doctors at clinical research sites is tracking the finances involved in the research itself. Very often payments that come from many different places and for several different projects are paid out at different times.
And it can get confusing to keep track of just how much money from various contracts is coming in.
Sponsor payments are one of the most important sources of funding for clinical research. Crucial to the continuation of long-term research, it can often be difficult to see which sponsors still owe during the course of the project.
Some products such as spreadsheets can be time-consuming, frustrating and error-prone due to the tiring manual entry of information.
With a research-based software tool, it is a lot easier to track sponsor payments, so much so that you are even able to figure out (and most importantly --- RECOVER) otherwise lost or missing funds. There are many examples of sponsors being even up to 120 days behind on their payments and it can be a mess.
These systems that are built especially for clinical research sites even give you the option to monitor different methods of payments and accounting, and automated finance tracking by first entering all of the contract terms and it can be both a time and money-saving investment.
But even with such helpful products around, there is always a need to improve the overall tracking of research. What do YOU find most challenging when it comes to sponsor payment tracking? What products have YOU used and which would you recommend?
This guest blog contributed by:
Bio-Optronics, Inc. develops, deploys and operates software products and custom information technology solutions to help healthcare professionals manage and optimize workflow, thus enhancing quality, productivity, and patient and staff satisfaction.
For 25 years, Bio-Optronics has demonstrated leadership in innovation, expertise in workflow and integration and a singular approach to unparalleled customer service.
Bio-Optronics, (877) 279-8377, http://www.bio-optronics.com; Maria Durkin, VP, Director Marketing and Operations, mdurkin@bio-optronics.com



Posted by Anne-Marie Baughn on Thu, Aug 05, 2010
The dog days of summer are upon us. The kids are out of school and many of us are taking much needed vacations, either at the beach or fishing in beautiful lakes. I often hear many sites say that summer is a slow time, not only for starting new studies, but also for obtaining new study leads. more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Wed, Jul 28, 2010
As discussed during our initial blog about SOP’s, (click here to view initial blog) sites could benefit from a list of SOPs needed by any reputable site. Thank you to all those that contributed to creating this list. While I am sure many people will have suggestions to improve upon this list it is my hope you will share those ideas with us here. more...
Posted by Michael Jay on Thu, Jul 22, 2010
A common concern among research sites is that of capturing all of their startup costs for a trial. Estimates of these costs can range from $5,000 - $15,000 and most sites with which we associate are not reporting that sponsors are paying these sums. more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Wed, Mar 31, 2010
RxTrials welcomes Donna J. Percy, RN, BSN, as guest blogger who wrote the below post. Donna is vice president of Research at Sterling Research Group in Cincinnati, Ohio.
If fewer and fewer of your Investigator and Site Initiation Meetings are happening face-to-face, welcome to the new world order, where it appears that technology may trump tradition. more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Thu, Mar 18, 2010
SOPs - Standard Operating Procedures - have a place in our business. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they help to ensure quality and consistency in our performance and protect study volunteers. You may consider some SOPs more critical than others and some even unnecessary. Maybe, like me, you think there's no clear-cut set of SOPs established for clinical research sites.
more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Wed, Mar 10, 2010
Over the years, the title of the clinical research site or collections of sites has evolved, like everything in our industry. Twenty years ago, when research was almost exclusively conducted in academic facilities and teaching hospitals, it was pretty easy. Fast forward to 2010 and an array of titles: more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Wed, Feb 10, 2010
Would you agree to buy a car without knowing the cost and, worse yet, without enough information to know whether you can afford the terms of the car loan? The idea of doing something like that surely must sound ludicrous to you. Yet a scenario much like this occurs every day in the clinical study selection process involving sites and their business partners. Let's review how this process typically happens now.
more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Wed, Feb 03, 2010
Let's start this decade with a resolution and a solution: To improve the financial health of clinical research sites through our commitment to negotiate (demand?) monthly payments for services rendered.
It's a reasonable request in the business world, right? But it's not happening in the clinical research site business. Here's why and here's why it has to change. more...
Posted by Christine Pierre on Tue, Oct 27, 2009
Protecting the rights, safety and welfare of study subjects is the number one priority when conducting clinical research.
The FDA recently released (in October 2009) a "Guidance for Industry" paper which provides Clinical Research Investigators guidance on their responsibilities in protecting the rights, safety and welfare of study subjects. This guidance paper contains numerous expectations and clarity of how Investigators should be managing and conducting their clinical research. more...