Clinical research ideas worth reading

Wellness Clinical Research Blog

Useful perspectives on site operations, recruitment, feasibility, technology, quality, and the clinical research issues that matter to sponsors, CROs, investigators, and research teams.

Clinical research coordinator speaking by phone with a prospective study participant in a community research clinic
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Recruitment Materials Are Not a Recruitment Strategy

A new Cochrane review challenges several common recruitment assumptions. The site-level lesson is not to abandon communication materials, but to stop treating them as a substitute for responsive, measurable human follow-up.

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Clinical research team reviewing a first-in-human study startup plan in a modern research facility
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FDA’s Expedited IND Pilot Turns Parallel Startup Into a Readiness Test

FDA’s new Expedited IND Pilot explicitly encourages IRB review and site activation to proceed alongside IND development where appropriate. The opportunity is real, but only if sponsors and sites manage changing documents, financial exposure, and first-in-human readiness through clear operational gates.

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Clinical research team reviewing a realistic study feasibility plan before trial launch
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NIH’s Proposed Trial Form Puts Feasibility Where It Belongs: Before the Study Starts

NIH is revising a proposed clinical trial application form after researchers raised questions about site readiness, multisite organization, recruitment, retention, community engagement, and inclusion. The practical lesson extends beyond grant-funded research: feasibility should be supported by operational evidence before the protocol and enrollment forecast harden.

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Clinical research coordinators reviewing a protocol and preparing study visit documentation in a professional research site
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The Startup Bottleneck Hiding Between Site Activation and First Patient In

Recent industry attention has focused on a frequently overlooked part of study startup: translating the protocol and supporting manuals into source documents that staff can reliably use. Here is why that work delays enrollment, creates quality risk, and deserves earlier sponsor, CRO, and site coordination.

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Clinical research operations and finance professionals reviewing trial payment records together in a modern research office
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Site Payment Performance Is a Clinical Operations Metric Now

Payment delays are often treated as a finance problem. At the site level, they affect staffing, participant reimbursements, vendor readiness, study prioritization, and the administrative capacity available for trial execution. Sponsors and CROs should measure payment performance as closely as other operational indicators.

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Clinical investigator and research coordinator reviewing eligibility criteria and laboratory information together
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Broader Eligibility Changes the Operating Model, Not Just the Protocol

FDA’s three final oncology eligibility guidances encourage more deliberate use of performance status, laboratory thresholds, washout periods, and concomitant medication exclusions. The operational lesson is clear: broader eligibility can improve access and accrual, but only when protocols, feasibility assumptions, screening workflows, and participant support are designed together.

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