How to Create CTMS Flexibility
Your CTMS should reflect your actual needs, and shouldn't include what isn’t necessary. This excerpt from our whitepaper, “How the Right CTMS Enables Meaningful Data Ownership,” explains how rethinking your approach to system selection and pricing options can drive more meaningful data ownership, and more effective management of your crucial trial data.
Ease of adoption: getting data in, but also getting it out.
It’s often easier to go along with existing systems, such as those used by a partner. But the inherent struggles of transferring and/or converting data into your preferred system are multifold.
The hidden cost of passive acceptance results in out-of-scope change orders—a partner might be perfectly willing to spend time rearranging data into a preferred format, and to charge for doing so. In other instances, the data owner might feel trapped using a solution that doesn’t allow them to pull the data out on their own. In such a situation, the data owner might be stuck waiting for a partner or vendor to respond—without access to their own data and at increasing burdens of time and cost.
At the end of the day, no data owner (sponsor or otherwise) should be locked into the rigidity of using a system/vendor/process chosen by another organization for that organization’s own needs and preferences. Instead, data owners can take back control of their data by selecting a well-designed and feature-comprehensive tool built to empower meaningful data ownership.
For many sponsors, this might look like reversing the typical relationship: selecting a system with features based on their own needs, then working with their CRO partners to effectively use such systems (while still engaging the CRO to provide expertise in their given area). Others might locate data ownership within the larger framework of returning to an in-house model.
For data owners, the bottom line is this: you own the data. Why allow that data to live fragmented across multiple systems or departments, or within systems that are not 21 CFR Part 11- compliant, beyond the reach of your access, oversight, and usage?
Affordability provides flexibility—adjusting to your needs, for your growth.
Traditionally, CTMS vendors follow a standard pricing model in which customers are required to sign a long-term contract and pay for features they do not need—a system which provides advantages to the vendor, but few advantages to the buyer (besides ensuring long-term access to a system).
A new alternative is a flexible subscription model. Instead of committing to services ahead of time, sponsors can select and pay for services on a month-by-month basis. This model also enables team and feature scalability while supporting budget-sensitive studies and programs. True affordability isn’t just the price tag—it’s giving you what you need, not what you don’t.
Keep an eye out for excess or hidden costs, or dependencies not included in the initial pricing, such as:
Initiation fees, charging extra to actually start using your purchase
Support fees, charging for customer support or up-to-date training materials
Study setup fees, often a surprise additional cost
One of the main perks of purchasing a feature-rich CTMS with all of the included tools is to avoid the confusion and excess cost of pricing multiple different systems with various connectors, fees, and integration specialists.
Instead, selecting a vendor who offers on-demand, subscription model pricing can help ensure speedy startup while only paying for what you need. And choosing a vendor who makes experienced, quality support a priority can avoid frustration later on.
Vendor expertise
All of the aforementioned criteria, tools, and features can aid in study success, but each trial has its own unique needs. It can be helpful to think of an ideal clinical toolkit as a pocketknife: providing multiple distinct and purposeful tools, each one at the ready.
And for each of these components and services, much of their usefulness is itself driven by vendor expertise—the craftsmanship, user experience, and relevance of offerings are exponentially better when based in boots-on-the-ground experience and an understanding of day-to-day needs. In the eClinical tools market, it’s often wise to invest in a solution created by those with actual industry experience.
The comfort of first-hand knowledge cannot be overstated, so take some time to research your choices. How was the product developed? When considering a vendor or partner, ask about their data-hosting platforms and platform providers. These relationships can all prove to be a big asset in the decision-making process.
Why SimpleTrials?
At SimpleTrials, our user-centered design and flexible pricing options offer the right fit, right now.
Read our whitepaper, “How the Right CTMS Enables Meaningful Data Ownership,” to learn more.