Let’s Ride(share)! Removing Travel Burden Leads To Clinical Trial Success

The industry places a heavy focus on enhancing the clinical trial participant journey, in an effort to help foster a more positive experience in a sensitive and dynamic environment.

That’s why clients rely on Greenphire. Payments and travel are closely intertwined in delivering an effective patient convenience strategy. In my role, I partner alongside some of the most inspirational healthcare leaders, helping them maximize our technology to elevate and innovate recruitment and retention efforts for their global studies.

One of the most valuable tools available is our rideshare integration; it provides seamless, high-quality travel for participants to literally transport them throughout their journey. Over the past four years, Greenphire’s rideshare offering has completed over 41,000 trips to get participants to and from their scheduled visits. This includes participants of varying ages and conditions, across multiple therapeutic areas including Oncology, Immunology, Neurology, and more.

What makes rideshare better than an alternative method of transportation?

Rideshare has disrupted the travel industry, allowing for cost-friendly, on-demand, reliable transportation with vetted drivers and ride tracking. For example, Lyft’s Healthcare division is specifically designed to support the transportation of patients and allow them greater access to healthcare. The familiarity of using rideshare services has produced very positive feedback and repeat usage, keeping the participants engaged in their trials by eliminating transportation barriers, as well as opening enrollment opportunity in various socioeconomic and diverse areas saturated with rideshare drivers.

Not only has Greenphire’s rideshare solution benefited participants, but the sites are equally satisfied, recognizing the simplicity of scheduling rides and the impact it has had on their studies. One of Greenphire’s top sponsors shared that “One site coordinator stated that it was the best study they have ever done, especially in regard to patient transportation,” with direct feedback from the site saying, “Greenphire made the process easier, and patients feel appreciated and looked after.”

Greenphire strongly believes in feedback – from all stakeholders who utilize our solutions, to understand satisfaction and to drive future innovations. In a recent survey, sites confirmed the positive anecdotes shared with us by sponsors, citing:

• 94% of sites using Greenphire’s Rideshare integration feel that arranging transportation for their participants keeps them enrolled in a study
• 91% agree that ClinCard’s rideshare integration makes it easier to get to their visit

Trends have shown that traveling in general has grown more challenging and costly since the pandemic. In fact, according to the 2021 CISCRP Perceptions and Insights Study, traveling to the study clinic was ranked as the top burden faced by those who had participated in a trial. Greenphire’s rideshare offering eliminates the direct out-of-pocket expense to the participant, reduces the cost on the sponsor due to the type of service not being a specialty car provider, and ultimately improves recruitment and retention rates due to participant’s having secured rides to and from their visits.

One U.S. site supporting a neuro study mentioned, “Patients are pleasantly surprised to learn that they are reimbursed for all travel, and the Greenphire system is SO easy to use – takes literally seconds.”

Greenphire continues to invest in ways to help sponsors, CROs and sites deliver a more seamless participant journey for their trials worldwide.

Stay tuned for exciting enhancements regarding our patient convenience suite coming soon!