FutureMeds Poland’s Managing Director, Dr Piotr Rozpondek, recently launched a new dedicated health screening mobile unit under FutureMeds go! pilot project. These units will meet patients where they are, boost clinical trial awareness and increase access to new treatments.
The FutureMeds go! project has been set up in response to the current health emergency. Our mission is to reach people who find travel more complicated and costly and give communities access to new treatments that, historically, medical research overlooked. According to our initial estimates, a single mobile unit can reach and help over 15,000 patients each year.
The FutureMeds go! pilot project aims to
✔ Give a wider group of patients access to free preventive examinations and medical consultations
✔ Increase patients’ awareness of clinical research and help them discuss the topic with specialists
✔ Boost patient enrollment in trials by increasing patient convenience and decreasing barriers
✔ Provide significant support to our Warsaw, Łódź, Kraków and Wrocław Dedicated Research Sites
Our specialist teams will use the first FutureMeds go! dedicated health screening mobile unit to provide a comprehensive health screening and consultation service for patients with a range of conditions both at our Dedicated Research Sites and in the local community.
Depending on the patient feedback and utilisation rate of the new FutureMeds go! mobile unit, FutureMeds aims to launch additional units and have them roam the communities of our site network across Europe.
Into the Community
Ever since COVID-19, the challenges of providing care can vary in unavoidable or uncontrollable ways in different segments of the rural and urban communities. Due to particular pressures such as funding, workforce, and access to resources, some health services are not able to afford to provide their population with the same access to and quality of care that others do.
Economic and time pressures also limit patients. With the nearest doctors sometimes more than an hour away, medical professionals say that ageing populations and those limited by work schedules may put off routine visits as they struggle to access the care they need.
It has also long been recognised that most health and social care systems are seen as too reactive to crises rather than preventing health problems from spiralling out of control and preserving health.
Initiatives such as FutureMeds go! that provide health screenings can aid doctors and services to decrease pressures while shifting focus to prevention by providing them with health appraisals of those patients who are less likely to travel for a checkup. In addition, a health checkup and consultation help patients better control their care, which is a win-win situation for patients and doctors alike.
Building Trust and Raising Awareness
One of the best things mobile units can provide is the chance to strengthen trust between patients and their doctors and help the latter offer better care for their patients.
FutureMeds go! aims to help ageing populations and those limited by work schedules who may postpone visits till problems become worse by offering them an opportunity to take care of their blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, and other conditions that most likely lead to chronic disease.
Through screenings and consultations, patients can learn more about their health, managing risk, and what treatment options are available.
“The vision of FutureMeds go! is to build a fleet of mobile units that become an actual part of our wider patient and doctor communities, where people can rely on us and know that we are going to be there for them.”
- Dr Piotr Rozpondek, MD, PhD, Managing Director of FutureMeds Poland
Boosting Patient Enrollment and Retention
Typically, 70 per cent of potential participants live more than two hours from trial sites. The travel and time burdens experienced by potential study participants are often considered barriers to their enrollment in clinical research. These barriers are usually more pronounced and are more likely to hold ageing patients and those with tight work schedules back from accessing treatments that can help them.
Although travelling and transportation are central to traditional research participation, it proves challenging in many ways:
Older adults with poorer overall functioning are less likely to have access to transportation.
Those limited by work are less likely to consider travelling, which eats into their downtime.
Older adults may face difficulty getting to clinical research sites even when they consent to participate.
Individuals with limited mobility face additional challenges in using public transportation to get to sites.
Clinical research sites in major hospitals and universities are often located in heavily trafficked neighbourhoods with a confusing and expensive parking landscape.
At FutureMeds, we firmly believe in decentralisation and shifting clinical-trial activities closer to patients through initiatives such as FutureMeds go!. Projects like this broaden trial access and can help Sponsors and CROs reach a larger number and potentially a more diverse pool of patients. In addition, mobile and home healthcare enable more procedures to occur away from research sites and help patients access the services they never considered using.
It is a fact that meeting or exceeding recruitment goals in clinical research is one of the key determinants of a study’s timely and successful completion.
Meeting patients where they are and using mobile clinics is essential on many levels:
✔ FutureMeds can go to locations that are easier for volunteers to get to.
✔ By seriously reducing their real and perceived barriers to enrollment, we can reach more people and educate them on the benefits of joining trials.
✔Mobile screening units and the more advanced mobile clinics are agile, flexible and compliant spaces to support decentralised and hybrid clinical trials.
Next Steps
As a vital part of the FutureMeds go! pilot project, FutureMeds Poland also commissioned a fully functioning mobile clinic to facilitate decentralised and hybrid studies. The mobile clinic’s interior has been designed to provide comfort and convenience to the patients whilst also enabling the dedicated research team to carry out studies.
“FutureMeds go! has many possibilities. FutureMeds go! mobile units are not only a place to diagnose and conduct clinical research, but also a great way of communication that builds trust and increases awareness of trials, wherever we go.”
- Dr Piotr Rozpondek, MD, PhD, Managing Director of FutureMeds Poland
Depending on the patient feedback and utilisation rate of the new FutureMeds go! mobile unit and the advanced mobile clinic, FutureMeds aims to launch additional units to help people access new treatments in our network across Europe.
FutureMeds, a fast-growing independent Site Management Organisation, is in Europe’s top tier of Dedicated Research Site Networks. Our Dedicated Research Sites across the continent are currently involved in running clinical trials on behalf of our clients in pharma and CROs.
About FutureMeds
FutureMeds is a fast-growing independent Dedicated Research Site Network supporting pharmaceutical companies, Sponsors and CROs and contributing to research to find effective treatments and medications for all patients who need them.
FutureMeds’ Dedicated Research Site teams strive to accelerate study timelines, streamline processes, lower costs and improve data quality to help accelerate patient access to new treatments.
Through acquisitions and a strategic focus on patient experience, FutureMeds has developed qualified patient pools across Europe that enables faster patient enrollment and strong retention and help generate more accurate results.
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