News & Events

Industry Survey Shows 50 Percent of Clinical Trials Professionals Find Electronic Data Capture More Attractive as Outsourced Service

Phoenix Data Systems study reveals that 83 percent of organizations currently use electronic data capture.

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Phoenix Data Systems (PDS), the leading Full Service Electronic Data Capture (EDC) solutions provider, announced the results of an industry-wide survey executed in partnership with leading pharmaceutical publication, PharmaVOICE. The study posed a variety of questions related to EDC, clinical trials and other eClinical technologies and was distributed to more than 6,000 pharmaceutical, biotechnological and biopharmaceutical/biological industry professionals.

Nearly eighty three percent of the respondents reported that they "currently use EDC," indicating a high rate of EDC experience among sponsors. Additionally, fifty percent stated that EDC was more attractive to them as an outsourced service than as a technology-only offering. This finding demonstrates a strong need within the industry for more complete solutions that incorporate eClinical technologies as part of the services.

"More and more clinical organizations recognize that the information produced by clinical trials is the lifeblood of the drug development process. They realize that devoting an infrastructure to manage and master eClinical technologies can be a distraction, even an impediment, to achieving that goal," said Dr. Bill Claypool, CEO of Phoenix Data Systems. "Phoenix Data Systems' service-based approach offers many sponsors the best way to ensure consistent, high-quality trial management by combining eClinical benefits with experienced and knowledgeable personnel."

The survey results also provided valuable insight into eClinical trends, such as, the top technology selection criteria and the areas where sponsors see benefits. "Ease of use" was the top criteria for choosing an EDC solution, followed by "study build and support services," then, "vendor experience." Technology architecture and technology integration fell to fourth and fifth on the list, respectively. Respondents pointed to "speed" as the biggest advantage of EDC and eClinical solutions compared to alternatives. Ranking second was "insight on study progress/results" -- a sign that the industry has matured past implementation issues and now counts on improved information access to optimize their study management.

Good times for eClinical? A quarter of the survey respondents said that EDC use in all of their clinical studies has increased by more than fifty percent over the last two years. Moreover, almost half said that EDC use will increase by more than fifty percent over the next two years.

"The Phoenix Data Systems/PharmaVOICE survey is very consistent with the research we conducted as part of our upcoming EDC spending forecast," said Chris Connor, senior research analyst at Health Industry Insights, an IDC company. "We're at the inflection point of the EDC adoption curve and entering a new fast-growth market phase. The next phase isn't focused on EDC technology as much as the ability to execute quickly and deliver a full range of quality services transparently."

For full survey results, please contact Jim Dorsey at jdorsey@pdsedc.com.