The Benefits of Using EDC Software in Clinical Research

Electronic Data Capture, commonly known as EDC, is a reliable clinical trial software that pharmaceutical companies and CROs widely use to collect clinical data remotely from physicians and clinicians.

This technology has revolutionized the life-science industry by helping develop new drugs and gain better patient insights. Despite clinical research's various challenges, EDC and other patient-centric technologies have been instrumental in addressing them.

As a result, the EDC market was valued at 1.25 billion in 2022 and will grow at a CAGR of 14.6% from 2023 to 2030, according to Grand View Research report. This growth indicates the rising demand for EDC software in the clinical trial industry.

This article will provide valuable insights into the benefits of using EDC in research and offer necessary recommendations.

Benefits of Using EDC Software in Clinical Research

Digital & patient-centric technologies are advancing clinical trials more efficiently by bridging the communication between the research team to get productive outcomes. When it comes to gathering quality data, we think of EDC. Let’s learn the benefits of using EDC one by one:

• Reducing Cost and Time for Clinical Research

Physical visits to research sites caused delays in clinical trials and burdened patients with travel difficulties & research firms with limited budgets.

EDC clinical trial software has improved the research process by providing a digital space for stakeholders to participate in the trial without any physical appearance on the trial site. It offers standardized forms, flexibility, and quick protocol amendments according to regulatory guidelines. Patients can fill up the forms & other details anytime through their electronic devices.

• Enhancing Data Quality

Manual data entry can lead to errors, which can have catastrophic consequences.

EDC, an AI-powered technology, verifies data based on predetermined parameters to maintain the standard quality and can even make edits if needed, reducing human review and saving time.

• Streamlining Regulatory Compliance

Manually cross-checking clinical trial regulations is impractical and time-consuming. In addition, manually updating guidelines can lead to errors and non-compliance, threatening patient safety. Isn't it a critical issue that risks public health?

EDC has the potential to sort out the issue by doing an audit of the information collected and ensuring they comply with the current industry standards.

• Increasing Participant Engagement

As we know, EDC checks the industry compliance standards; it educates the patients to evaluate the recent clinical trial guidelines, check their safety, and share their consent on further participating in the trial process.

It helps track the trial progress from both ends and resolve the probable risks obstructing a successful clinical trial.

• Improved data security

Data theft or cybercrime is another concern that inhibits patients from sharing their data with researchers. There can be foul play with the manually entered data, which can be non-trackable. One can easily alter the data to get the trial outcomes in their favor.

Electronic data capture software with cloud server integration stores the data in the virtual database. It ensures secure data through end-to-end encryption, which anyone cannot easily breach. Also, it can monitor every change and track the same.

• Improved communication

Effective communication is vital in clinical trials. Patients need a good experience, while researchers must educate them about the process.

It is the responsibility of clinicians to regularly update patients and address their concerns to build trust and encourage engagement. Practically, there are a lot of complications in this process.

EDC software can help with multi-channel communication through social media, video, and audio calls to reach patients remotely & virtually.

Recommendations for Organizations

Have you decided to get EDC clinical trial software for your organization? But unaware of the pointers to analyze while selecting the best one. Here are a few recommendations you must look over while looking for a bunch of options in the market.

• Identify Needs

Want your management system to have an error-free & efficient solution to complete the research successfully? Then it would be best if you hovered over some factors, like frequency in regional regulations, & patient population, to determine the appropriate solution for your organization.

• Develop Requirements

You need to upgrade your service if you follow traditional means in research through pen & paper for manual data entry. However, your competitors are a step ahead in the research industry with technologies installed at their end. So, it is necessary to list the requirements the EDC system can fulfill.

• Research Vendors

You may come across many vendors with solutions per your requirements, but research should be your top priority. Never fall into the trap of tempting words they use to attract you.

Check the vendor sites, reviews on the software, provision of free trials or demos, pricing plans, etc., beforehand to deal with the right one.

• Establish an Evaluation and Selection Process

When you thoroughly evaluate every feature of EDC software from different companies, you must keep in mind your needs so that it will be easy to select the feasible one from the wishlist.

Conclusion

Technology is transforming the clinical trial process to a large extent intending to remove all the potential barriers and help the research industry to achieve its objectives successfully. An EDC clinical trial software is among those technologies that streamline data collection with safe data accessibility, improved data quality & data security to rejuvenate the research process into a structured format & ultimately bring faster solutions for patient treatment.