Budgeting and Contracting for Patient Recruitment

Originally Published MX November/December 2001

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Budgeting and Contracting for Patient Recruitment

Once all decisions regarding the recruitment tactics to be implemented have been made, the clinical trial sponsor has in hand the most important information necessary as a basis for determining an appropriate recruitment budget. The investment in tactics—in marketing the trial to patients—may very well be the most significant expense in that budget. This is especially true for campaigns that rely heavily on paid television advertising, a notoriously expensive tactic.

In the highly competitive and rapidly growing field of clinical trials, creating a patient recruitment budget and considering contracting options is becoming increasingly important. Clinicians, administrators, sponsors, and others involved in clinical trials must think strategically in deciding when, where, how, and why to budget and contract for patient recruitment.² The following areas of growth and change in the budgeting and contracting process need to be considered when planning a new study.