Mobile health Facilitates Remarkable During Australia’s COVID-19 Outbreak
The Challenge:
The mdgroup mobile health team facilitated decentralized clinical trial visits in remote and metropolitan areas in Australia during a COVID-19 Delta variant outbreak. With strict lockdowns and high transmission risk, ensuring patients could continue trial participation safely was critical. We focused on delivering remarkable patient experiences through in-home research visits, while reducing travel risks and protecting both patients and trial integrity.
The Solution:
Our team starts every project by listening to the patient, designing home visits to suit their needs and lifestyle, and putting patients first at every stage of the journey.
When a patient is referred to us, they receive an introductory call from our clinical management team, who discuss what to expect from their first visit. This initial contact provides an opportunity for patients to ask questions, and also helps us ensure we’ve assigned the most appropriate healthcare practitioner (HCP) to conduct their visits.
By listening carefully to each patient, we tailored visit times to fit around family life, cultural commitments, and work responsibilities. This personalized approach not only reduced stress but also helped patients feel respected and cared for as individuals, building trust throughout their participation in home research visits.
Safety and Compliance
Our services in Australia and New Zealand, as with all others globally, adhere to a strict COVID-safety plan, including a pre-visit COVID exposure risk assessment.
When community and workplace exposure risks were particularly high, our nurses also undertook surveillance screening for COVID-19 to protect patients and their households from unnecessary exposure. They traveled to visits by car to minimize public exposure, carrying everything needed to safely and efficiently complete the the in-home research visits.
Some visits took place in very remote areas, requiring nurses to commute by car or plane. They followed strict protocols to minimize exposure before and during travel, including pre-visit COVID-19 surveillance and compliance with local public health guidance.
Our team conducted all procedures with informed consent and an emphasis on patient comfort. HCPs adhered to strict policies around infection prevention and aseptic technique, ensuring compliance with clinical safety standards. These precautions reassured patients that their health and safety were our top priority, while also giving sponsors confidence that visits were carried out under rigorous standards, even in the most challenging conditions.
The Outcome:
Patients and caregivers shared overwhelmingly positive feedback, reporting that home visits reduced stress and allowed them to remain engaged in the study. Importantly, all scheduled visits were completed successfully, ensuring no loss of critical data and protecting trial timelines despite the challenges of the pandemic.
We’re proud of the role we’ve taken in keeping patients safe and engaged in clinical trials throughout the global pandemic. Our teams continue to go above and beyond to deliver remarkable patient experiences at every stage of the clinical journey.
Want to learn more about how our decentralized solutions and in-home visits keep patients safe, engaged, and supported?
