As Marketplace Competition Heats Up for Clinical Trial Concierge Services, BBK Worldwide Releases Key Data from Multiple Years in the Field

BOSTON, March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BBK Worldwide (BBK), an industry leader in the clinical trial patient experience and engagement technologies, releases key performance metrics on its concierge services, revealing the significant impact these site- and patient-centric programs have on global clinical trial recruitment and engagement. Unlike new entrants, BBK's travel program RSG^® Arrive and reimbursement program RSG^® Card, for instance, are supported by a host of high-touch interactions with sites and patients that exceeded expectations since they were introduced into the marketplace in 2013.

As more companies attempt to enter the patient arena for the first time, and partnerships form between such on-demand ride-hailing services as Uber and Lyft, the early results, as reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, have found that these services are not proving effective in reducing missed appointments and in patient satisfaction. On the contrary, BBK has proven to reduce clinical trial withdrawal rates among patients up to 70 percent.

Taking a closer look, RSG Arrive, which provides specialized travel coordination for study participants, was the first program of its kind to help patients overcome geographic barriers to study participation. RSG Card, a reimbursement program that provides a site- and patient-centric approach, has efficacy results from the United States and, more remarkably, from countries around the world.

"Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United States have the greatest adoption rates. And while international support was early out of the gate for RSG Arrive, domestic patient travel managed through RSG Arrive now accounts for 49 percent of all travel," comments Hannu Koski, site services manager, BBK Worldwide.

BBK's analysis of RSG Card and Arrive efficacy data from studies conducted from 2015 through 2017 was randomly drawn from more than 19 countries, 400 sites, and 800 patients:

• Global patient withdrawal rates were 60% lower at sites that used RSG Card.
• 7.5% average withdrawal at RSG Card sites compared to 18.5% average withdrawal at non-RSG Card sites.
• Regionally, US withdrawal was 73% lower, and European withdrawal was 59% lower.
• Global patient withdrawal rates were 58% lower at sites that used RSG Arrive.
• 5.8% average withdrawal at RSG Arrive sites compared to 13.8% average withdrawal at non-RSG Arrive sites.
• Regionally, US withdrawal was 82% lower, and European withdrawal was 67% lower.

"It's one thing to offer a ride to a patient; it's quite another thing to create a relationship by offering a ride," comments Joan F. Bachenheimer, founding principal and CEO, BBK Worldwide. "We recently heard from a patient in California who credited her RSG Arrive driver with preventing her from missing an appointment. He drove her 95 percent of the time and called her the night before to confirm."

Several other BBK concierge products and services have had a dramatic impact on the marketplace in terms of enhancing the study experience. RSG^® Arrive Plus supports international travel in many of the most extreme circumstances including the needs patients have for securing a visa, translation of medical records, caretaker and medical staff travel, and with a patient advocate who speaks their language and understands their customs, following and supporting them during their journey. The My Clinical Study Buddy^® app provides patients with study-related resources at their fingertips. The supplemental pre-screening support offered through the Your Study Nurse program helps to free up site staff so they can focus their attention on qualified referrals.

"The most effective, motivating, and supportive participant engagement solutions are designed in partnership with health providers and always consider the needs of the caregiver," comments Bachenheimer. "Our products and services inspire the whole study community and, most importantly, alleviate site administrative burden, enabling doctors and nurses to spend more time with patients, the ultimate variable that has the greatest impact on patient compliance and satisfaction."

"The Patients to Find the Cure^®" has been BBK's tagline for more than three decades. The new data on the company's concierge services reflects this promise as well as the company's commitment to the patient experience. RSG^® Card, RSG^® Arrive, and My Clinical Study Buddy^® are registered trademarks of BBK Worldwide.

About BBK Worldwide
BBK Worldwide is the industry leader in the clinical trial patient experience and engagement technologies. One of the few remaining corporately independent and full-service R&D marketing firms, BBK has maintained its position at the forefront of patient recruitment and engagement innovation for almost 35 years. Our commitment to ongoing adaptation and industry breakthroughs is made possible by our patented smart technology TrialCentralNet^® — the industry's most comprehensive, secure, and user-friendly recruitment and engagement platform. Headquartered near Boston, Massachusetts, BBK has partners and offices across Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. (bbkworldwide.com)

SOURCE BBK Worldwide

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