Streamlining Site Payments: The Power of Integration

When conducting hundreds of clinical trials annually, spanning various therapeutic areas and involving hundreds of research sites worldwide, site payments are a critical process to ensure success. Many companies invest in a dedicated site payment system and operate largely in isolation from their core clinical trial management system (CTMS) and electronic data capture (EDC) platform. This disjointed approach led our client to significant challenges in meeting site expectations centered around payments, ultimately impacting efficiency, accuracy, and site relationships.

The Challenge: A Disconnected Approach

The site payment process was largely manual and heavily reliant on data reconciliation between disparate systems and manual processing. The clinical data, including patient visits, procedures, and milestones, resided within the CTMS and EDC. Payment data, on the other hand, was managed separately. This lack of consistent data and manual process created several pain points:

  • Manual Data Entry and Reconciliation: Staff spent countless hours manually extracting data from the CTMS and EDC and re-entering it into the payment system to ultimately need to get to the ERP system. This process was time-consuming, prone to errors, and diverted resources from more strategic activities.
  • Increased Risk of Errors: Manual data transfer inevitably led to discrepancies between clinical data and payment information. These errors resulted in payment delays, inaccurate payments, and frustrated research sites.
  • Lack of Transparency and Visibility: The disconnected systems made it difficult to track payment status and gain a holistic view of site payment activity. This lack of transparency hampered communication with sites.
  • Strained Site Relationships: Payment delays and inaccuracies eroded trust with research sites, impacting site satisfaction and hindered future collaboration.
  • Scalability Issues: The manual payment processes were dependent on higher staffing levels creating additional costs and slowing down study execution.

The Solution: Embracing Integration

Sitero implemented Mentor Payments, a solution that seamlessly connected their existing CTMS and EDC platforms with the ERP system. This integration enabled the automated flow of critical data between systems, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reconciliation.

Key Features of the Integrated Platform:

  • Automated Data Exchange: Patient visit data, milestone achievements, and other relevant clinical information automatically flowed from the CTMS and EDC to the payment system.
  • Real-time Payment Tracking: Real-time visibility was gained into the status of all site payments, enabling proactive identification and resolution of potential issues.
  • Automated Payment Calculations: Site payments were automatically calculated based on pre-defined payment schedules and clinical data, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
  • Enhanced Reporting and Analytics: Comprehensive reporting and analytics tools, were gained providing valuable insights into site payment trends and performance.
  • Improved Communication with Sites: The platform facilitated seamless communication with research sites, providing timely updates on status and addressing any payment-related inquiries promptly.

Results: A Transformative Impact

The implementation of the integrated site payment platform yielded significant benefits while Sitero was able to provide the expertise and process to accomplish this implementation.

  • 26 Studies: Migrated and integrated with multiple CTMS and EDC providers.
  • 62% Gain in Efficiency: Automating data exchange and payment calculations dramatically reduced manual effort, freeing up staff to focus on higher-value activities.
  • 97% Payment Accuracy: Eliminating manual data entry significantly minimized the risk of errors, leading to more accurate and timely site payments.
  • Enhanced Transparency: Real-time payment tracking provided greater visibility into payment status, resulting in strengthened site relationships and improving and facilitating proactive issue resolution.
  • Scalability: The integrated platform provided the scalability needed to support the expected growth of the clinical trial portfolio.

Customer Feedback

“Integrating our clinical systems with the new site payment platform has been a game-changer. We’ve gone from spending countless hours reconciling data and chasing down payment discrepancies to having a seamless, automated process. Site payments are now accurate and timely, which has not only freed up our internal team but also significantly improved our relationships with our research sites. It’s made a real difference in the efficiency and overall success of our clinical trials.”

– Director Clinical Payments, Global Biotech Customer