New Clinical Trials Recruitment Program to Launch at DIA Show
SMI Launches Patient Recruitment Arm to Increase Enrollment in Clinical Trials
Point-of-Care Marketing Company Leveraging Out-of-Home Media Tactics
to Inform Physicians, Increase Volunteers for Clinical Trials
King of Prussia, PA – June 18, 2008– SMI announced today the launch of SMI
Clinical Trials, a patient recruitment division designed to accelerate the
clinical trial recruitment and enrollment process and reduce per-patient
recruitment costs. SMI is an out-of-home marketing firm that connects
advertisers to their target audiences through sponsored patient education
programs at the point of care, including physicians' offices, hospitals, and
other healthcare facilities. Clinical trials placement veteran
Barry Crescenzi
has been named director of patient recruitment.
According to CenterWatch(SM), a Clinical Trials Listing Service™, difficulties in
patient enrollment delay 81% of all clinical trials one to six months, and
another five percent longer. The National Cancer Institute cites various
barriers among patients and physicians that contribute to the delays. The lack
of volunteers for trials is fueled by minimal awareness and access, as well as
apprehension and fear of being treated like “guinea pigs.” Amongst the medical
community, lack of awareness of appropriate clinical trials, fear of losing
control of patients' care, and perceived administrative burdens are among the
obstacles.
“The delay of clinical trials prevents potentially life-saving drugs from
receiving FDA-approval and widespread use,” says Crescenzi. “SMI combats this
problem by leveraging our extensive physician network to help CROs find
individuals to participate in clinical trials, and by implementing our
Point-of-Care Marketing programs to encourage patients to enroll in appropriate
clinical trials.”
With a network of 250,000 healthcare facilities totaling 400,000 physicians, SMI
traditionally works with pharmaceutical companies to provide sponsored patient
education activities that drive brand awareness and increase revenue.
Educational health panels, branded exam table paper, direct mail, and mobile
marketing have proven to produce tremendous recall rates among patients, and
help stimulate conversations between trusted healthcare professionals and their
patients.
Fifty-two percent of patients take action after seeing an advertisement at the
point of care, compared to 39% that take action after seeing or hearing an
advertisement on television, radio, or in print, according to Harris
Interactive. SMI has also found that nearly one-third of patients discuss
in-office brochures and advertisements at the point of care with their
physicians.
“Patients trust medical information they find in their physicians' offices more
than anywhere else,” says Steve Delozier, president of SMI. “SMI's success in
reducing per-patient recruitment costs and accelerating the patient recruitment
and enrollment process has sparked us to expand our innovative media tactics
into the clinical trials arena. We are excited to officially launch this arm.”
“Traditional methods of recruiting patients are not enough anymore. Individuals
are bombarded with thousands of messages daily,” says a senior project manager
at the nation's largest CRO. “Point-of-Care Marketing tactics stimulate
conversations between patients and their physicians about the content and
advertisement. These conversations can contribute to patients enrolling in
clinical trials.”
Mr. Crescenzi will spearhead SMI Clinical Trials. He has extensive healthcare
experience and previously held a practice management position with HIS Clinical
Research Company, a subsidiary of HealthCare Integrated Services, Inc. (HISS).
Mr. Crescenzi was responsible for securing clinical trials from pharmaceutical
companies and matching them to sub-specialists or family practice physicians,
evaluating and credentialing Principal Investigators (PI), and helping conduct
several clinical trials in various fields.
Visit SMI Clinical Trials in booth #251 at the DIA Show at the Massachusetts
Convention Center Authority in Boston, Massachusetts, from June 22-26.
Background on SMI
SMI is a physician-owned out-of-home marketing firm that connects advertisers to
their target audiences through sponsored patient education programs at the point
of care, including physicians' offices, hospitals, and other healthcare
facilities. SMI's Point-of-Care Marketing programs enable advertisers to
influence their customers and improve the relationships between our network of
400,000 physicians and their patients in 250,000 healthcare facilities
nationwide. Programs include educational health panels, branded exam table
paper, interactive monitors featuring sponsored educational activities, and
mobile marketing, enabling advertisers to communicate and share information with
their target audiences in real-time. More information is available at
www.smihealthmedia.com.
Download a PDF version of this press release here