Patient Services for Childhood Neurological Disorder Trial
Organising transcontinental travel and an extended stay for an entire family during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Challenge
In February 2020, we recruited our first patient for a particular study into a serious childhood neurological disorder. The family needed to travel from Chile to Spain for the three-month duration of the study visit.
This length of stay is unusually long, and we were tasked with managing all elements of the visit, including booking flights, arranging suitable accommodation, and organising payments for living costs.
Our first challenge was the short notice of the request. We faced a tight timeline of less than a week to book the flights and find accommodation, and before we could make a start, we needed to ensure all the correct documentation was in place.
Failure to manage these arrangements could have delayed the study, risked patient withdrawal, and jeopardized critical data collection.
Obtaining required documentation
Our first challenge was getting the family’s consent and personal information, including names of those travelling, their age, language spoken, preferred language documentation, and exact visit dates.
We also needed to get an approval letter from the site as proof that the family was eligible to stay in Spain. These ‘pre-steps’ were required before we could begin travel arrangements.
Booking flights
We knew the predicted end date for the patient to complete the study might change. This meant we needed to book open-ended flights, which are generally more expensive. What’s more, tight timelines meant flight prices were even higher.
The flights also needed to be suitable for a family taking a long journey with a young child. We wanted to reduce stress as much as possible and didn’t want the family to be too exhausted on arrival.
The client asked us to provide them with various options that were kept within budget, finding the best solution for the family while lowering the risk of losing money.
Accommodation and living expenses
As with the open-ended flights, we also needed to consider accommodation with flexible check-out dates. In addition to not knowing the exact end date of the study, there was also the risk that the patient might drop out and want to return home earlier. Again, we needed to lower the risk of losing the client’s money.
Booking accommodation for a three-month family stay in a different country – let alone a different continent – is never easy. We also needed somewhere with good internet connectivity, close to the hospital, in order to make things as easy and comfortable as possible for the family.
We needed to be careful of incurring additional, unanticipated costs such as loss of deposit or cancellation fees. On top of accommodation, we also had to arrange payments for living costs bi-weekly.
COVID-19
COVID-19 presented another major challenge, and we needed to extend the family’s stay in Spain during the peak of the pandemic.
Language barriers
All of our arrangements and liaisons with the family needed to be conducted in Spanish, as that was the only language they spoke.
The Solution
We delivered on every requirement by acting quickly, thinking creatively, and prioritizing the family’s needs. This project showcased how effective patient travel in clinical trials can remove barriers to participation, even in the most complex global situations.
Our actions included:
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Agility: Completing all required documentation in just one day.
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Ingenuity: Sourcing open-ended flights within budget despite limited time and volatile pricing.
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Quality: Securing an apartment that met client requirements, close to the hospital, with no cancellation fees.
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Flexibility: Negotiating to extend the family’s stay during peak COVID-19 restrictions.
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Reliability: Setting up and managing a pre-paid Mastercard for living expenses, registered and loaded on time.
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Human connection: Overcoming the language barrier by including the Study Coordinator in calls and translating all email communication.
The Outcome
Despite exceptional challenges, we delivered everything the client asked for and more. Our patient travel team’s negotiation skills ensured the family could remain in the same apartment for the full stay, even when it was scheduled for other tenants.
The client praised our responsiveness, attention to detail, and ability to keep the family comfortable and engaged throughout the trial. This case demonstrates how personalized patient travel in clinical trials is essential to supporting retention and ensuring study continuity in challenging circumstances.
All study requirements were completed on time, with zero disruption to trial timelines and 100% retention of the enrolled patient.
Most importantly, the family reported feeling supported, connected, and reassured. By removing barriers to participation, we reduced stress, built trust in the trial process, and enabled the study to progress successfully despite the global pandemic.
Want to keep your trials on track?
mdgroup specializes in removing barriers for patients, ensuring seamless participation, and protecting data quality in even the most complex studies. Our approach to patient health drastically reduces patient drop-out rates and prevents disruption to your clinical trial, getting products to market faster.
