It is imperative when selecting accommodation providers to support your clinical studies that a number of factors are taken into account. To our specialist clinical trial agents, these are common sense, but to someone who doesn’t understand the high touch nature of a clinical trial travel, these things can be overlooked, causing distress and unnecessary anguish for your trial participants.

A few of the many factors are the accommodations proximity to site, i.e. does the property have a shuttle?  Are there corporate rates in play for the site being visited and, if so, can we access / leverage these? Five star-rated accommodations will raise flags with IRB’s, while two star-rated lodging will likely cause study drop outs. Remember also to think of your patient demographic; what is the study for and does that mean the patient has specific needs and, if so, can the property accommodate those needs?  Does the patient have a travel companion and, if so, is there a need for one bed or two? If two, is the patient mobile, do they need a wheelchair, is there enough space in the room for two beds and still comfortable access for someone who is not ambulatory? Don’t assume that the patient and companion can share a bed, many oncology studies use radiation and subsequently there are guidelines around close proximity to other people.  Also think from a corporate viewpoint. Does the patient have a loyalty card? These loyalty cards will often offer free breakfast, Wi-Fi, early check-in, etc. And while these may look like perks, they’re actually reducing the bottom line cost of the T&E for your study.

Benefits at a Glance

• An understanding of the intricacies of travel
• Determining accommodation needs, based on the demographic of the patient