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
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthy nursing school habits
    Healthy Habits for Nursing Student Nursing School Students
    May 24, 2024
    High Deductables
    High-Deductible Insurance and Rising Bad Debt
    July 24, 2015
    How People Are Taking Advantage of Health Deals in the Recent Recession
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • 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
Last updated: December 30, 2013 9:00 am
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

Innovation: Aligning Physicians and Hospitals to Create Sustainable Health Care Delivery
Payor Contract Compliance and Tracking Reimbursements: Are You Being Paid Correctly?
ER Visits and the Elderly: Why Are Costs So High?
Telemonitoring at Work in the Netherlands
Innovative Medical Devices Save Lives of Heart Patients But Often at a High Cost

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

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

Hospital Marketing, Patient Engagement, Cleveland Clinic, Healthcare Marketing
BusinessHospital Administration

Navigating the Hospital Maze: Is Poor Design Destroying Your Branding?

July 29, 2014

Your Employees are Depressed. Why Employers and You Should Care

November 12, 2012

Flying “Eye” DC-10 Hospitals Give the Gift of Sight

November 14, 2011
Healthcare Administrators: Lighten Your Load With These 4 Tips
Hospital Administration

Healthcare Administrators: Lighten Your Load With These 4 Tips

August 4, 2017
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?