By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Healthcare Companies Tap Big Data for Clinical Trials
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Business > Healthcare Companies Tap Big Data for Clinical Trials
Business

Healthcare Companies Tap Big Data for Clinical Trials

Deanna Pogorelc
Deanna Pogorelc
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

bigstock-Shopping-in-supermarket-49322690First published on MedCityNews.com. When Orexigen Therapeutics needed to recruit some 9,000 patients for a clinical trial examining the cardiovascular effects of its weight loss drug candidate, big data came to the rescue.

bigstock-Shopping-in-supermarket-49322690First published on MedCityNews.com. When Orexigen Therapeutics needed to recruit some 9,000 patients for a clinical trial examining the cardiovascular effects of its weight loss drug candidate, big data came to the rescue.

Only it wasn’t big healthcare data. Rather, the pharmaceutical company’s contractor, Blue Chip Marketing, mined consumer data to look for lifestyle clues that indicated certain people were more likely to meet the inclusion criteria of the study.

According to Blue Chip’s executive vice president, Ken Shore, the company was able to find the participants it needed nearly four times faster than originally projected.

More Read

Panacea Dreamin’
It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye: The Exit Strategy
Innovation, Primary Care Style
The Art of Prioritization: Managing Clinical and Administrative Tasks
9 Best Practice Tips and Techniques for Superior Podcasts and Audio Content

Other industries like banking, retail, internet and even health insurance have been using so-called lifestyle based analytics for quite some time to target their marketing efforts. Applying it to clinical trial recruitment allows medical companies to find likely research participants without the challenges of having to rely on privacy-protected medical data to identify patients.

“We are really trying to eliminate any investment or effort spent on patients who wouldn’t qualify for a particular study,” Shore explained. In the case of Orexigen, for example, it didn’t make sense to spend money sending direct mail to healthy, active people when it needed people who were overweight and at-risk for cardiac complications.

So the firm developed algorithms that factored in certain habits indicative of an inactive lifestyle — for example, frequent fast-food purchases or a premium cable subscription. These kinds of data points are collected every day by credit card companies and service providers. Blue Chip worked with data companies like Experian to identify potential subjects and target its direct-mail marketing to those people.

“With the database that we’re able to market to through the use of LBA, the response rate is four times greater than a traditional database,” Shore said. “A lot of that stems from the fact that we’re more confident that the people we’re reaching out to are that much more appropriate for the study.”

Even though the companies that house and sell that kind of consumer data aren’t violating HIPAA, lifestyle-based analytics is still stirring up some privacy concerns. A recent Wall Street Journal article includes accounts of consumers targeted by similar clinical trial recruitment efforts who have filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission over concerns that their privacy is being violated.

When I asked Shore whether this kind of marketing would become more commonplace in clinical trials, he expressed that although it was more cost-efficient than traditional marketing in this case, it isn’t the panacea for long, costly clinical trial recruitment. We might see more of it, but only in cases when it’s appropriate and relevant, like that of Orexigen’s weight loss drug. Rare, genetic diseases, on the other hand, aren’t easy to identify based on lifestyle clues. “Large, chronic conditions are the best fit for LBA,” Shore said.

[Image credit: BigStock Photos]

TAGGED:big dataclinical trialsHealth Data
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

Medication Management For Seniors
Simplifying Medication Management For Seniors
Infographics Senior Care
October 21, 2025
Guide To Pursuing a Career in Nursing as a Foreigner in the USA
Collaboration Is the Prescription for Better Patient Care
Health
October 20, 2025
Epidemiological Health Benefits
Personal and Epidemiological Health Benefits of Blood Pressure Management
Health
October 13, 2025
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Understanding Traumatic Brain Injuries: What Families Need to Know
Policy & Law
October 10, 2025

You Might also Like

medical team management
Business

How to Manage Your Ortho Team Like the Miami Heat

June 9, 2014
Nursing Shift Changes and Patient Handoffs
Hospital AdministrationWellness

Dealing Effectively with Shift Changes and Patient Handoffs

March 3, 2016
BusinesseHealthTechnology

How to Find the Best Hosting Provider for Your Medical Website

February 12, 2019

The Second Wave of Healthcare Informatics

August 28, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?