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
    physical health
    5 Ways Playing Games Can Improve Neural and Physical Health
    September 9, 2022
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    Reasons For Hair Loss and Its Treatment
    February 16, 2022
    healthcare organization
    5 Actionable Strategies For Healthcare Organizations
    August 15, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 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
    Almost Anybody Qualifies for Medicaid in Maine
    November 23, 2012
    ebola and EHR
    Ebola: Are We Relying on EHR to Tell the Story?
    October 24, 2014
    Caitlin Kelly
    How Would You Fix Healthcare? – Question and Answers.
    January 16, 2013
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: How Big Data and the IoT Are Transforming Clinical Trial Recruitment
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 > Technology > Medical Innovations > How Big Data and the IoT Are Transforming Clinical Trial Recruitment
Medical Innovations

How Big Data and the IoT Are Transforming Clinical Trial Recruitment

Jonathan Catley
Jonathan Catley
Share
5 Min Read
iStock_64164261_MEDIUM.jpg
SHARE

Big Data and the IoT are quickly transforming the world of clinical research, including how trial sponsors find and retain patients. While the digital revolution has permeated the medical world more slowly than other industries, it’s finally begun to make a real impact. PwC research found that while the healthcare industry has a relatively low “Digital IQ” score of 65%, it boasts more CEOs that actively champion digital than any other industry. For clinical trials, that advocacy is translating into the implementation of big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), which are transforming not only how research is conducted, but the strategies used to identify, attract, and retain qualified patients. As methods of data collection and analysis become more sophisticated, clinical trial sponsors stand to make unprecedented progress in patient recruitment and retention.

Contents
  • Gaining Perspective on Big Impact
  • Finding More Qualified Candidates, Faster

Gaining Perspective on Big Impact

The IoT is the web of digitally-connected physical objects — wearables, medical devices, smartphones, buildings, and even cars — that collect and share data. In the healthcare industry, this market is poised to grow to $136 billion by 2020, according to Research and Markets. Big Data, on the other hand, is the process of collating and analyzing the vast troves of data generated by the IoT, along with other sources, such as social media and the web. For clinical research, IoT and big data are a match made in digital heaven. According to McKinsey, such technologies enable real-time clinical trial monitoring and facilitate data-sharing between research groups, R&D, physicians, and CROs. Using analytic feedback from web-connected medical devices and aggregated clinical results, researchers can create shorter, more effective trials, with results that are useful to a wide range of operators. According to Pharma Life Sciences, this development could reduce readmissions and even unnecessary in-person visits. For example, wearable devices allow patients to participate in clinical trials remotely rather than travelling long distances to trial locations. Gadgets like smart skin patches, reports the Verge, will soon be able to automatically deliver medicine to patients and send biological information to researchers. Digital devices can also solicit detailed patient feedback, allowing researchers to optimize future trials from the patient’s perspective. PharmaVoice notes that, already, major life-science companies like Calico (a Google company), Novartis, Roche, and UCB are teaming up for big data and IoT partnerships.

Finding More Qualified Candidates, Faster

Big Data analytics also enables clinical trial recruiters to target patients much more accurately and specifically, drawing from a vast reservoir of sources, notably among them: online behavioral profiles. With such detailed patient information, researchers can also pre-establish nuanced enrollment criteria and set up automated screening processes, dramatically improving the speed and efficiency of enrollment drives. The switch to big data-enabled recruitment is probably going to happen relatively soon, as more patients now find out about clinical trials on the internet than from any other media source. In fact, patient recruitment groups are already integrating advanced analytics with strategies like search engine marketing (SEM) and paid social media advertising. Platforms like Google Adwords and Facebook feature advanced targeting options, enabling recruiters to filter their marketing efforts by demographic, location, age, interests, and online behavior. As the IoT collects more and more patient data and digital analytics technologies continue to improve, the value of e-recruitment’s is only going to increase — which is a compelling case for investment, as digital advertising has already established itself as the most cost- and time-efficient approach to trial recruitment. For an industry that has long struggled to keep up with tech trends, this is an exciting opportunity to streamline process, eliminating inefficiencies and getting better products to market, sooner.

Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

medical innovation and tech helping people to get healthy
Medical InnovationsTechnology

Advantages of Using Modern Technology in Healthcare

June 4, 2021

Waiting for the Robot Wheelchair

March 14, 2011
biopharma beat
BusinessDiagnosticsMedical EducationMedical EthicsMedical InnovationsPolicy & LawPublic Health

BioPharma Beat: Is Commercial Support of CME A Bad Idea?

November 24, 2014
prosthetics designer
Medical DevicesMedical InnovationsTechnology

The Amazing Saga of Mike Schultz, Citizen Scientist

October 1, 2013
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?