Abstract
Background/Objectives: Remote clinical studies offer new outreach opportunities, but recruitment remains challenging. We report our experience in identifying potential participants from diverse sources and adopting various outreach and recruitment methods. Methods: We utilized multiple screening and recruitment methods to identify and enroll patients into an implementation study for guideline-directed care in patients with T2D at high risk of cardio-renal complications within the Mass General Brigham health network. Patients were identified by querying the EHR and invited by emails, individualized, or bulk EHR-portal messages. Traditional outreach included reviewing upcoming clinic visits, accepting provider referrals, and mailing invite letters. All screened-in patients received phone calls following the initial invitation ( Figure ). Results: Of 200 enrolled participants, 190/200 (95%) were identified from the EHR, 2/200 (1%) from upcoming clinic visits, and 8/200 (4%) from provider referrals. Of patients identified through the EHR, 49/3317 (1%) of the total enrolled were invited by an individualized EHR message, 61/3317 (2%) by e-mail, 80/588 (14%) by mailed letter, and 0/3666 (0%) by bulk EHR message. From clinic, 2/102 (2%) of upcoming visits and 8/36 (22%) of provider referrals were enrolled. Overall, 90/200 (45%) of enrolled patients came from letters or clinic while 110/200 (55%) came from electronic outreach. Conclusion: Conducting remote clinical research is feasible, however, enrollment remains labor-intensive. Traditional methods of patient engagement are difficult to scale, although they led to high enrollment rates. While the EHR was the primary method for identification of our enrolled participants, traditional approaches including manual screening, mailed letters, and provider referrals continue to play a role in patient enrollment. Innovative approaches are necessary to improve the process.
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